LE 


SCOUT 

n 

i|j| 

HANnUIR 


i  HI*  >- 


$'>»;r**  '< 


FRKD  M.  J>EWITT 

|{.   >.   ,Iv-.l     I.I.I     K 

laou  TKI.KOI:  VPII  AVK. 
OAKLAND.  CAI.. 


A    LITTLE   UNION    SCOUT 


I  drank  in  the  melody  with  a  new  sense  of  its  wild  and 

melancholy  beauty 

[Page  56] 


A     LITTLE 
UNION     SCOUT 


BY 


JOEL   CHANDLER   HARRIS 

AUTHOR  OF 

GABRIEL  TOLLIVER,  THE  MAKING  OF  A  STATESMAN 
AND  WALLY  WANDEROON 


ALD1 


Illustrated  by  George  Gibbs 


NEW  YORK 

McCLURE,   PHILLIPS  £  CO. 
MCMIV 


Copyright,  1904,  ty 
JOEL  CHANDLER  HARRIS 

Published,  April,  1904 


COPYRIGHT,  1904,  BY  THE  CURTIS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

I  drank  in  the  melody  with  a  new  sense  of  its  wild 

and  melancholy  beauty Frontispiece 

Facing 
page 

"He^s  tryin'  to  git  away !"  yelled  Forrest  in  a  voice 

that  could  be  heard  all  over  the  field  .      .      .      .      10 
"I  want  you  to  catch  this  fellow  and  fetch  him  to 

me" 38 

Whistling  Jim  ran  into  him  head  down  like  a  bull  .      64 
I  was  wild  with  remorse  and  grief  ......      96 

"If  hate  could  kill  you,  you  would  fall  dead  from 

this  horse"       ...     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .    110 

The  leader     .      .      .     had  an  evil-looking  eye    .      .138 
He  had  me  covered  .     ,     .     .156 


4C4397 


A  LITTLE   UNION   SCOUT 


A  young  lady,  just  returned  from  college,  was 
making  a  still-hunt  in  the  house  for  old  things 
— old  furniture,  old  china,  and  old  books.  She 
had  a  craze  for  the  antique,  and  the  older  things 
were  the  more  precious  they  were  in  her  eyes. 
Among  other  things  she  found  an  old  scrap- 
book  that  her  mother  and  I  thought  was  safe 
under  lock  and  key.  She  sat  in  a  sunny  place 
and  read  it  page  by  page,  and,  when  she  had 
finished,  her  curiosity  wras  aroused.  The  clip 
pings  in  the  old  scrap-book  were  all  about  the 
adventures  of  a  Union  scout  whose  name  was 
said  to  be  Captain  Frank  Leroy.  The  news 
paper  clippings  that  had  been  preserved  were 
queerly  inconsistent.  The  Northern  and  West 
ern  papers  praised  the  scout  very  highly,  and 
some  of  them  said  that  if  there  were  more  such 
men  in  the  army  the  cause  of  the  Union  would 
progress  more  rapidly;  whereas  the  Southern 


4    ..'•'..'     A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

papers,  though  paying  a  high  tribute  to  the  dash 
and  courage  of  the  scout,  were  highly  abusive. 
He  was  "  one  of  Lincoln's  hirelings  "  and  as  vil- 
lanous  as  he  was  bold. 

The  girl  graduate  at  once  jumped  to  the  con 
clusion  that  there  was  a  story  behind  the  old 
scrap-book,  else  why  should  it  be  preserved  by 
her  father,  who  had  been  a  Confederate  soldier  ? 
This  idea  no  sooner  took  shape  than  she  became 
insistently  inquisitive.  As  for  her  father,  the 
very  sight  of  the  scrap-book  awoke  the  echoes 
of  a  hundred  experiences — long  and  dangerous 
rides  in  the  lonely  night,  battles,  sharp  skir 
mishes  and  bitter  sufferings. 

The  story,  such  as  it  was,  took  shape  in  my 
mind,  and  I  am  afraid  that  the  young  girl  had 
small  difficulty  in  persuading  me  to  tell  it. 
Memory  brought  before  me  the  smiling  features 
of  Harry  Herndon,  my  life-long  friend  and  com 
rade,  the  handsome  face  of  Jack  Bledsoe,  one  of 
our  college  mates  from  Missouri,  and  the  beauti 
ful  countenance  of  his  sister,  Katherine  Bledsoe. 
These  and  a  hundred  other  faces  came  crowding 
from  the  past,  and  the  story  was  told  almost  be 
fore  I  knew  it. 


A   LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  5 

When  Harry  Herndon  and  I  went  to  the  wars 
we  were  somewhat  belated.  The  excitement  of 
'61  found  us  at  college,  where  we  had  orders  to 
remain  until  we  had  finished  the  course,  and  the 
orders  came  from  one  whom  we  had  never  dared 
to  disobey — Harry's  grandmother.  And  then, 
when  we  were  ready  to  go,  she  cut  in  ahead  of 
our  plans  and  sent  us  to  the  West  with  letters  to 
General  Dabney  Maury,  whom  she  had  known 
when  he  was  a  boy  and  later  when  he  was  a 
young  officer  in  the  regular  army. 

We  were  not  ill- equipped  for  two  raw  young 
sters  ;  we  had  Whistling  Jim,  the  negro,  three 
fine  horses,  and  more  money  than  I  had  ever 
seen  before.  We  went  to  General  Maury  and 
were  most  courteously  received.  The  Virginia 
Herndons — Harry  belonged  to  the  Maryland 
branch — were  related  to  him — and  he  liked  the 
name.  We  caught  the  barest  glimpse  of  service 
at  Corinth,  and  were  fortunate  enough  to  be  in  a 
few  skirmishes,  where  we  distinguished  ourselves 
by  firing  at  nothing  whatever. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  General  Maurv 

•r 

was  made  commander  of  the  Department  of  the 
Gulf,  with  headquarters  at  Mobile,  where  we  saw 


6  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

service  as  clerks  and  accountants.  For  my  part, 
the  life  suited  me  passing  well,  but  Harry  Hern- 
don  fretted  so  that  we  were  soon  transferred  to 
the  command  of  General  Forrest,  who  was  sadly 
in  need  of  men.  As  it  happened,  we  had  little 
difficulty  in  finding  our  man.  We  had  heard 
that  he  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Chattanooga, 
giving  his  men  and  horses  a  much-needed  rest ; 
but  on  the  way  news  came  to  us  that,  in  spite  of 
his  brilliant  achievements  in  the  field,  he  had  been 
deprived  of  the  choicest  regiments  of  his  brigade 
— men  whom  he  had  trained  and  seasoned  to  war. 
After  this  mutilation  of  his  command,  he  had 
been  ordered  to  Murfreesborough  to  recruit  and 
organize  a  new  brigade. 

Toward  Murfreesborough,  therefore,  we  made 
our  way,  falling  in  with  a  number  of  Forrest's 
men  who  had  been  on  a  brief  visit  to  their  homes 
in  Alabama  and  were  now  returning  to  their 
command.  As  we  shortly  discovered,  the  Union 
commanders  in  Tennessee  mistook  General  For 
rest's  movement  to  the  neighborhood  of  Chatta 
nooga  for  a  retreat;  for,  shortly  after  he  moved 
in  that  direction,  an  ambitious  Federal  officer 
asked  and  received  permission  to  enter  Northern 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  7 

Alabama  with  a  force  large  enough  to  worry  the 
Confederate  leader  if  he  could  be  found.  The 
organization  and  equipment  of  this  force  required 
a  longer  time  than  the  Federal  commander  had 
counted  on,  and  by  the  time  it  was  ready  to 
move  General  Forrest,  with  the  remnant  of 
his  command,  was  on  his  way  to  Murfreesbor- 
ough. 

In  some  way — the  sources  of  his  information 
were  as  mysterious  as  his  movements — General 
Forrest  learned  that  a  Federal  force  was  making 
its  way  toward  Northern  Alabama,  and  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  give  it  his  attention.  Within  a 
very  short  time  he  had  followed  and  overtaken 
it,  passing  it  on  a  road  that  lay  parallel  to  its 
line  of  march.  Then  it  was  that  the  Federal 
commander  began  to  hear  rumors  and  reports  all 
along  his  route  that  Forrest  was  making  a  rapid 
retreat  before  him.  It  was  stated  that  his  men 
were  discontented  and  that  the  condition  of  his 
horses  was  something  terrible. 

One  day,  along  toward  evening,  the  Federal 
commander  went  into  camp  in  the  neighborhood 
of  a  wooded  hill  that  commanded  the  approach 
from  the  south.  He  felt  sure  that  the  next  day 


8  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

would  witness  the  rout  and  capture  of  the  Con 
federate  who  had  for  so  long  harassed  the  Fed 
erals  in  Tennessee.  As  he  came  to  the  hill  he 
passed  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  Forrest's 
men,  who  were  concealed  in  the  woods.  The 
Federals  went  into  camp,  while  Forrest,  leaving 
a  part  of  his  command  in  the  enemy's  rear,  silently 
passed  around  his  right  flank. 

Now,  it  happened  that  Harry  Herndon  and 
myself,  accompanied  by  Whistling  Jim  and  the 
companions  we  had  picked  up  on  the  way,  were 
coming  up  from  the  south.  It  happened  also 
that  we  were  following  the  road  leading  through 
the  valley  to  the  left  of  the  hill  on  which  the  op 
posing  forces  were  stationed.  It  was  very  early 
in  the  morning,  and  as  we  rode  along  there  was 
not  a  sound  to  be  heard,  save  the  jingling  of  our 
bridles. 

The  valley  had  more  length  than  breadth,  and 
was  shaped  something  like  a  half -moon,  the  road 
following  the  contour  of  the  crescent.  We  had 
proceeded  not  more  than  a  hundred  yards  along 
the  road  within  the  compass  of  the  valley  when 
a  six-pounder  broke  the  silence  with  a  bang,  and 
a  shell  went  hurtling  through  the  valley.  It 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  9 

seemed  to  be  so  uncomfortably  near  that  I  invol 
untarily  ducked  my  head. 

"Marse  Cally  Shannon,"  said  Whistling  Jim, 
the  negro,  addressing  me,  "what  you  reckon  make 
dem  white  folks  bang  aloose  at  we-all,  when  we 
ain't  done  a  blessed  thing?  When  it  come  ter 
dat,  we  ain't  ez  much  ez  speaken  ter  um,  an'  here 
dey  come,  bangin'  aloose  at  us.  An'  mo'  dan 
dat,  ef  dat  ar  bung-shell  had  'a'  hit  somebody,  it'd 
'a'  fetched  sump'n  mo'  dan  blood." 

Whistling  Jim's  tone  was  plaintive,  but  he 
seemed  no  more  frightened  than  Harry  was. 
Following  the  bang  of  the  gun  came  the  sharp 
rattle  of  musketry.  We  learned  afterward  that 
this  firing  occurred  when  the  advance  guard  of 
the  Federal  commander  collided  with  Forrest's 
famous  escort.  We  had  no  idea  of  the  result  of 
the  collision,  or  that  there  had  been  a  collision. 
We  had  paused  to  make  sure  of  our  position  and 
whereabouts.  Meanwhile,  the  little  six-pounder 
was  barking  away  furiously,  and  presently  we 
heard  a  strident  voice  cut  the  morning  air:  "Go 
and  tell  Freeman  to  put  his  battery  right  in  on 
that  gun.  I  give  you  five  minutes." 

"That's  our  man!"  cried  one  of  the  troopers 


10  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

who  had  fallen  in  with  us  on  our  journey.  Joy 
shone  in  his  face  as  he  urged  his  horse  forward, 
and  we  followed  right  at  his  heels.  In  a  moment 
we  saw  him  leap  from  his  horse  and  throw  the 
bridle-reins  to  a  trooper  who  was  holding  a  string 
of  horses.  We  gave  ours  to  Whistling  Jim  to 
hold  and  ran  forward  with  the  man  we  had  been 
following. 

We  came  right  upon  General  Forrest — I  knew 
him  from  the  newspaper  portraits,  poor  as  they 
were.  He  was  standing  with  his  watch  in  his 
hand.  He  looked  us  over  with  a  coldly  critical 
eye,  but  gave  us  no  greeting.  He  replaced  the 
watch  in  his  pocket  and  waved  his  hand  to  a 
bugler  who  was  standing  expectantly  by  his  side. 
The  clear  notes  rang  out,  and  instantly  there 
ensued  a  scene  that  baffles  description.  There 
was  a  rush  forward,  and  Harry  and  I  were  car 
ried  with  it. 

I  could  hear  loud  commands,  and  shouting,  and 
the  rattle  of  carbines,  muskets,  and  pistols  made 
my  ears  numb — but  what  happened,  or  when  or 
where,  I  could  no  more  tell  you  than  the  babe  at 
its  mother's  breast.  I  could  only  catch  glimpses 
of  the  fighting  through  the  smoke,  and  though  I 


"He's   try  in'  to  git  a\Vay!"  yelled  Forrest  in  a  voice 
that  could  be  heard  all  over  the  field 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  11 

was  as  close  to  General  Forrest  as  any  of  his  men 
— right  by  his  side,  in  fact — I  could  not  tell  you 
precisely  what  occurred.  I  could  hear  cries  and 
curses  and  the  explosion  of  firearms,  but  beyond 
that  all  was  mystery. 

I  had  time  during  the  melee  to  take  note  of 
the  actions  of  General  Forrest,  and  I  observed 
that  a  great  change  had  come  over  him.  His 
face,  which  was  almost  as  dark  as  an  Indian's 
when  in  perfect  repose,  was  now  inflamed  with 
passion  and  almost  purple.  The  veins  on  his 
neck  stood  out  as  though  they  were  on  the  point 
of  bursting,  and  his  blazing  eyes  were  bloodshot. 
Above  the  din  that  was  going  on  all  around  him 
his  voice  could  be  heard  by  friend  and  foe  alike. 
I  cannot  even  describe  my  own  feelings. 

A  courier  rode  up.  He  had  lost  his  hat,  and 
there  was  a  spot  of  blood  on  his  chin.  He  re 
ported  that  the  Federals  were  making  a  desper 
ate  effort  on  the  extreme  right.  "He's  tryin'  to 
git  away!"  yelled  Forrest  in  a  voice  that  could  be 
heard  all  over  the  field.  "Tell  Freeman  to  take 
his  guns  thar  and  shove  'em  in  right  on  top  of 
'em.  We've  got  the  bulge  on  'em  here,  and  we're 
coming  right  along." 


12  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

And,  sure  enough,  we  began  to  find  less  and 
less  resistance  in  front  of  us,  and  presently  I 
could  see  them  running  out  into  the  valley,  filling 
the  road  by  which  we  had  come. 


II 

No  pursuit  was  made  at  the  time,  and  the  Fed 
erals,  finding  that  they  were  not  harried,  pro 
ceeded  in  a  leisurely  way  toward  the  river.  We 
followed  slowly  and  at  night  went  into  camp,  the 
men  and  horses  getting  a  good  rest.  Scouts  were 
coming  in  to  make  reports  at  all  hours  of  the 
night,  so  that  it  was  practically  true,  as  one  of  the 
old  campaigners  remarked,  that  a  horse  couldn't 
whicker  in  the  enemy's  camp  "but  what  the  Gen 
eral  'd  hear  it  sooner  or  later." 

Early  the  next  morning  we  were  on  the  road, 
and  I  had  time  for  reflecting  that,  after  all,  war 
was  not  a  matter  of  flags  and  music.  The  Gen 
eral  was  very  considerate,  however — a  fact  that 
was  due  to  a  letter  that  General  Maury  had  in 
trusted  to  Harry  Herndon's  care.  We  were  per 
mitted  to  ride  as  temporary  additions  to  General 
Forrest's  escort,  and  he  seemed  to  single  us  out 
from  among  the  rest  with  various  little  courtesies, 
which  I  imagined  was  something  unusual. 

13 


14  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

*  He  was  somewhat  inquisitive  about  Whistling 
Jim,  Harry's  body-servant,  who  he  thought  was 
a  little  too  free  and  easy  with  white  men.  But 
he  seemed  satisfied  when  Harry  told  him  that  the 
negro's  forebears  for  many  generations  back  had 
belonged  to  the  Herndons.  We  halted  for  a 
light  dinner,  and  when  we  had  finished  General 
Forrest  made  a  careful  inspection  of  his  men  as 
they  filed  into  the  road. 

We  had  gone  but  a  few  miles  when  we  came 
to  a  point  where  the  roads  forked.  On  one  he 
sent  a  regiment,  with  Freeman's  battery,  with 
instructions  to  reach  the  river  ahead  of  the  Fed 
erals  and  hold  the  ford  at  all  hazards  until  the 
main  body  could  come  up.  This  done,  we  swung 
into  the  road  that  had  been  taken  by  the  Federals 
and  went  forward  at  a  somewhat  brisker  pace. 

"I'm  going  to  give  your  nigger  the  chance  of 
his  life,"  remarked  General  Forrest  somewhat 
grimly,  "and  he'll  either  fling  up  his  hands  and 
go  to  the  Yankees,  or  he'll  take  to  the  woods." 

"He  may  do  one  or  the  other,"  replied  Harry; 
"but  if  he  does  either  I'll  be  very  much  sur 
prised."  General  Forrest  laughed;  he  was  evi 
dently  very  sure  that  a  negro  would  never  stand 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  15 

up  before  gun-fire.  A  scout  came  up  to  report 
that  the  Federals  were  moving  much  more  rap 
idly  than  they  had  moved  in  the  morning. 

"I  reckon  he's  got  wind  of  the  column  on 
the  other  road,"  the  General  commented.  "I 
allowed  he'd  hear  of  it.  He's  a  mighty  smart 
man,  and  he's  got  as  good  men  as  can  be  found 
— Western  fellows.  If  he  had  known  the  num 
ber  of  my  men  in  the  woods  back  yander  he'd  'a' 
whipped  me  out  of  my  boots."  And  then  his 
eye  fell  again  on  Whistling  Jim,  who  was  laugh 
ing  and  joking  with  some  of  the  troopers.  He 
called  to  the  negro  in  stern  tones,  and  ordered 
him  to  ride  close  to  his  young  master.  "We  are 
going  to  have  a  little  scrimmage  purty  soon,  and 
a  nigger  that's  any  account  ought  to  be  right 
where  he  can  help  his  master  if  he  gets  hurt." 

Whistling  Jim's  face,  which  had  grown  very 
serious  when  he  heard  his  name  called  by  the  stern 
commander,  suddenly  cleared  up  and  became 
illuminated  by  a  broad  grin.  "You  hear  dat, 
Marse  Harry!"  he  exclaimed.  "I'm  gwine  in 
right  behime  you!"  He  reflected  a  moment,  and 
then  uttered  an  exclamation  of  "Well,  suh!" 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  troop- 


16  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

ers  under  General  Forrest  came  in  contact  with 
Federals.  This  was  in  the  nature  of  a  surprise 
to  the  Union  commander,  for  there  were  persist 
ent  reports  that  Forrest  had  passed  on  the  other 
road,  with  the  evident  intention  of  harrying  the 
Federals  at  a  point  where  they  had  no  intention 
of  crossing.  So  well  assured  was  he  that  these 
reports  were  trustworthy  that  he  was  seriously 
considering  the  advisability  of  detaching  a  force 
sufficiently  large  to  capture  the  Confederate. 
He  therefore  paid  small  attention  to  the  attacks 
on  his  rear-guard.  But  presently  the  pressure 
became  so  serious  that  he  sent  a  member  of  his 
staff  to  investigate  it. 

Before  the  officer  could  perform  this  duty  the 
rear-guard  was  compelled  to  retreat  on  the  main 
body  in  the  most  precipitate  manner.  Then  the 
attack  ceased  as  suddenly  as  it  began,  and  the 
Federal  commander  concluded  that,  under  all 
the  circumstances,  it  would  be  best  to  cross  the 
river  and  get  in  touch  with  his  base  of  supplies. 

He  went  forward  as  rapidly  as  his  troops  could 
march,  and  he  had  a  feeling  of  relief  when  he 
came  in  sight  of  the  river.  It  was  higher  than 
it  had  been  when  he  crossed  it  three  or  four  days 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  17 

before,  but  still  fordable;  but  as  his  advance 
guard  began  to  cross,  Freeman's  battery,  oper 
ated  by  young  Morton,  opened  on  them  from  the 
ambuscade  in  which  it  had  been  concealed.  The 
thing  to  do,  of  course,  was  to  charge  the  battery 
and  either  capture  it  or  silence  it,  and  the  Federal 
commander  gave  orders  to  that  effect.  But  For 
rest,  looking  at  the  matter  from  a  diametrically 
opposite  point  of  view,  knew  that  the  thing  to  do 
was  to  prevent  the  capture  of  the  battery,  and  so 
he  increased  the  pressure  upon  the  Federal  rear 
to  such  an  extent  that  his  opponent  had  no  time 
to  attend  to  the  Confederate  battery. 

The  Union  commander  was  a  very  able  man 
and  had  established  a  reputation  as  a  good  fighter. 
So  now,  with  perfect  coolness,  he  managed  to 
present  a  very  strong  front  where  the  rear  had 
been,  and  he  made  desperate  efforts  to  protect 
his  flank.  But  he  was  too  late.  Forrest  said 
afterward  that  it  was  as  pretty  a  move  as  he  had 
ever  seen,  and  that  if  it  had  been  made  five  min 
utes  sooner  it  would  probably  have  saved  the  day. 

Just  as  the  movement  was  about  to  be  com 
pleted  it  was  rendered  useless  by  the  charge  of 
Forrest's  escort,  a  picked  body  of  men,  led  by 


18  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

the  General  in  person.  In  the  circumstances 
such  charges  were  always  irresistible.  Before 
the  Federals  could  recover,  the  Confederate  gen 
eral,  by  means  of  a  movement  so  sudden  that  no 
commander  could  have  foreseen  it,  joined  his 
force  with  that  which  was  supporting  Freeman's 
battery  and  charged  all  along  the  line,  bringing 
the  eight  and  twelve-pounders  right  to  the  front. 
No  men,  however  brave,  could  stand  before  a 
battery  at  close  range,  and  the  inevitable  result 
ensued — they  got  out  of  the  way,  and  stood  not 
on  the  order  of  their  going.  They  floundered 
across  the  river  as  best  they  could,  and  if  they 
had  not  been  American  troops  they  would  have 
been  demoralized  and  rendered  useless  for  fight 
ing  purposes;  but,  being  what  they  were,  they 
showed  their  courage  on  many  a  hard-fought 
field  as  the  war  went  on. 

When  night  fell  we  retired  a  mile  or  two  from 
the  river  and  went  into  camp.  Forrest  was  in 
high  good-humor.  He  had  accomplished  all  that 
he  had  set  out  to  accomplish,  and  more.  He  had 
emphasized  the  fact  that  it  was  dangerous  work 
for  the  Federals  to  raid  Northern  Alabama  while 
he  was  in  striking  distance,  and  he  had  captured 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  19 

army  stores  and  secured  horses  that  were  com 
paratively  fresh.  The  most  welcome  capture 
was  the  arms,  for  many  of  his  men  were  armed 
with  flintlock  muskets. 

He  was  very  talkative.  "That  nigger  of 
yours  done  about  as  well  as  any  of  the  balance 
of  us,"  he  said  to  Harry  Herndon. 

"I  didn't  see  him  at  all  during  the  fighting," 
replied  Harry,  "but  I  told  him  you'd  have  him 
shot  if  he  ran." 

"Well,  he  went  right  in,"  remarked  the  Gen 
eral,  "and  I  expected  him  to  go  over  to  the  Yan 
kees.  Maybe  he'd  'a'  gone  if  it  hadn't  been  for 
the  water." 

At  that  moment  we  heard  Whistling  Jim  call 
ing,  "Marse  Harry!  Marse  Cally  Shannon!" 
I  answered  him  so  that  he  could  find  us,  and 
he  came  up  puffing  and  blowing.  A  red  hand 
kerchief  was  tied  under  his  chin  and  over  his 
head. 

"Marse  Harry!"  he  exclaimed,  "kin  I  see  you 
an'  Marse  Cally  Shannon  by  yo'se'f?  I  done 
done  sump'n  dat  you'll  sho  kill  me  'bout." 

"Well,  don't  make  any  secret  of  it,"  said  I. 
"Out  with  it!"  exclaimed  Harry. 


20  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"Marse  Harry,  I  done  gone  an'  shot  Marse 
Jack  Bledsoe." 

"Good  Lord!"  cried  Harry. 

"Yasser,  I  done  shot  'im,  an5  he's  bad  hurt,  too. 
You  know  dat  las'  time  we  went  at  um?  Well, 
suh,  I  wuz  shootin'  at  a  man  right  at  me,  an'  he 
knock  my  han'  down  des  ez  I  pull  de  trigger,  an' 
de  ball  cotch  him  right  'twix  de  hip  an'  de  knee. 
He  call  me  by  my  name,  an'  den  it  come  over 
me  dat  we  done  got  mix'  up  in  de  shuffle  an'  dat 
I  wuz  shootin'  at  you.  But  'twuz  Marse  Jack 
Bledsoe;  I  know'd  'im  time  I  look  at  'im  good." 

"Good  heavens !  Is  he  dead  ?"  inquired  Harry, 
his  voice  shaking  a  little  in  spite  of  himself. 

"He  ain't  dead  yit,  suh,"  replied  Whistling 
Jim.  "I  got  down  off  'n  my  hoss  an'  pick  'im  up 
an'  take  'im  out  er  de  paff  er  de  rucus,  an'  den 
when  you-all  done  des  ez  much  shootin'  an'  killin' 
ez  you  wanter,  I  went  back  an'  put  'im  on  my 
hoss  an'  tuck  'im  ter  dat  little  house  by  de  river. 
Dey's  a  white  lady  dar,  an'  she  say  she'll  take 
keer  un'  'im  twel  somebody  come.  Does  you 
reckon  any  er  his  side  gwineter  come  back  atter 
'im,  Marse  Harry?  Kaze  ef  dey  don't,  I  dunner 
what  de  name  er  goodness  he  gwineter  do.  Dar 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  21 

he  is,  an'  dar  he'll  lay.     I'm  done  sick  er  war  ef 
you  call  dis  war — you  hear  me!" 

Harry  said  nothing,  but  I  knew  he  was  think 
ing  of  the  fair  Katherine,  Jack's  sister,  and  won 
dering  if  he  would  ever  be  to  her  what  she  was 
to  him.  He  had  his  face  in  his  hands,  and  ap 
peared  ready  to  give  way  to  grief.  General  For 
rest  turned  to  an  orderly:  "Go  fetch  Grissom 
here ;  tell  him  to  come  right  away."  The  surgeon 
soon  came,  General  Forrest  told  Whistling  Jim 
to  lead  the  way,  and  we  were  soon  riding  through 
the  night  in  the  direction  of  the  river. 


Ill 

A  fine  mist  was  falling,  and  the  night  was  so  dark 
that  we  would  never  have  found  our  way  but  for 
a  small  dog  whose  inhospitable  bark  directed  us 
to  the  cabin.  The  dog  was  so  disturbed  by  our 
approach  that  a  woman  opened  the  door  to  see 
what  the  trouble  could  be.  We  found  Jack 
Bledsoe  on  a  pallet,  and  saw  at  a  glance  that  the 
woman  had  administered  such  remedies  as  com 
mon-sense  and  experience  had  taught  her  would 
allay  the  fever  of  a  wound.  He  recognized  us 
at  once,  and  Harry  could  hardly  keep  back  his 
tears  when  he  saw  his  college  chum  lying  helpless 
on  the  floor.  He  supported  Jack's  head  while 
the  surgeon  was  examining  the  wound. 

"You  are  here  sooner  than  I  thought,"  said 
Jack,  gripping  Harry's  hand  hard,  "but  I  knew 
you  would — I  knew  it.  And  there  is  Carroll 
Shannon,"  he  went  on,  holding  out  a  hand  to  me. 
"You  never  were  very  fond  of  me,  Carroll,  but  I 
always  liked  you." 

22 


A   LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  23 

I  hardly  knew  what  to  say,  and  therefore  I 
said  nothing.  I  could  only  take  his  hand  in  mine 
and  give  him  a  grip  that  would  tell  him  more 
than  words  could  tell.  "Don't  worry,  old  fel 
low,"  Jack  continued,  observing  the  expression 
of  grief  and  anxiety  in  Harry  Herndon's  coun 
tenance.  "It's  all  owing  to  the  way  the  cards 
fall.  Some  day  your  turn  may  come,  and  then 
I  hope  I'll  be  able  to  go  to  you."  His  eyes  were 
unnaturally  bright,  and  his  lips  trembled  with 
suppressed  emotion. 

The  tension  was  relieved  by  the  woman,  who 
looked  at  both  the  young  fellows,  and  then  turned 
to  the  surgeon  and  asked  almost  unconcernedly, 
"Ain't  war  a  hell  of  a  thing?" 

It  was  the  surgeon  who  responded.  "It  would 
be  hard  to  find  a  better  definition,  ma'am." 

"I've  saw  lots  wuss'n  this,"  she  remarked,  as  if 
she  would  thus  find  excuse  for  her  sudden  use  of 
an  expression  that  is  rarely  heard  on  the  lips  of  a 
woman. 

"Why,  yes,  ma'am — a  great  deal  worse.  This 
is  not  a  bad  case  at  all.  No  great  damage  has 
been  done.  He  will  be  lame  for  some  weeks — 
perhaps  for  a  longer  time.  The  ball  struck 


24  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

the  bone,  glanced,  and  is  now  close  to  the  sur 
face." 

In  a  few  moments  he  had  deftly  extracted  it, 
and  the  wounded  man  seemed  to  be  greatly  re 
lieved.  Medicine,  strange  to  say,  had  been  de 
clared  a  contraband  of  war  by  the  Federals,  and 
the  surgeon  could  spare  but  a  driblet  of  quinine 
from  his  small  supply ;  but  he  left  some,  and  gave 
various  directions  with  respect  to  the  possible 
symptoms  that  might  arise. 

Just  then  the  woman's  husband  entered  the 
door.  He  was  an  emaciated,  unkempt  man, 
whose  movements  were  in  strange  contrast  with 
his  appearance.  He  was  one  of  the  most  trust 
worthy  of  General  Forrest's  scouts,  but  neither 
betrayed  the  fact  that  he  knew  the  other.  On  the 
contrary,  the  man  was  both  angry  and  rude. 
"What'd  I  tell  you,  Rhody?"  he  exclaimed,  turn 
ing  to  his  wife.  "I  know'd  they'd  crowd  us  out'n 
house  an'  home  ef  they  got  a  chance ;  I  could  'a' 
took  oath  to  it !  Cuss  'em,  an'  contrive  'em,  both 
sides  on  'em,  all  an'  similar !  They'd  as  lief  make 
a  hoss-stable  out'n  the  house  as  not,  an'  I  built  it 
wi'  my  two  han's." 

"An'  what  ef  you  did?"  inquired  the  woman 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  25 

with  some  show  of  spirit.  "Hit  ain't  sech  a 
beauty  that  you  kin  brag  on  it.  An'  who  made 
your  two  han's?  You  made  'em,  I  reckon,  an' 
nobody  else  could  'a'  done  it." 

The  man  made  a  gesture  as  though  he  could 
in  that  way  weaken  the  force  of  the  woman's 
words,  and  he  evidently  knew  when  to  speak,  for 
he  said  no  more.  On  the  contrary,  sympathy 
shone  in  his  eyes  when  he  looked  at  the  wounded 
man.  "Don't  you  worry,  Bill;  ef  ther's  any 
worryin'  to  be  done,  leave  it  to  me.  It  takes  a 
'oman  to  know  how  to  worry  right ;  an'  ever'thing 
oughter  be  done  right." 

"Can  you  get  a  boat  across  the  river?"  inquired 
General  Forrest,  turning  to  the  man.  He  was 
somewhat  doubtful  until  he  caught  the  General's 
eye,  and  then  he  thought  that  nothing  would  be 
easier.  "Well,"  said  the  General,  "go  across 
and  tell  the  Yankees  that  there's  a  wounded 
officer  at  your  house  and  that  he  needs  attention. 
Tell  'em  that  General  Forrest  says  they  can  get 
him  whenever  they  send  after  him." 

"Is  this  General  Forrest?"  inquired  Jack  Bled- 
soe.  "General,  I  hardly  know  how  to  thank 
you.  I  had  just  been  dreaming  of  prison." 


26  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

The  General  made  a  deprecatory  gesture,  and 
was  on  the  point  of  saying  something,  when  the 
man  of  the  house  spoke  up.  "Ef  you're  Gen- 
er'l  Forrest,"  he  said,  "you'll  be  more  than 
pleased  to  know  that  the  Yankees  ain't  never  took 
time  for  to  cook  supper.  After  they  hit  the 
furder  bank  they  jest  kep'  on  a-humpin',  an'  I 
don't  blame  'em  myself,  bekaze  'twuz  the  only 
way  wet  men  could  keep  warm." 

"It's  up  to  you,  Herndon;  he's  your  prisoner. 
He  ought  to  be  in  a  hospital  where  he  could  be 
looked  after,  but  I  reckon  he'll  have  to  stay  where 
he  is  for  a  while." 

"He  won't  put  me  out  a  mite  ef  he  stays,"  said 
the  woman.  "He'll  be  company  fer  me  when 
Bill  is  pirootin'  'roun'." 

General  Forrest  gave  us  permission  to  remain 
where  we  were  for  the  night.  "We  move  at  five," 
said  he.  "Bill  here  will  put  you  across  and  show 
you  which  way  to  go  when  he  has  found  your 
horses  for  you."  Just  how  Bill  would  do  that 
was  a  mystery,  but  we  asked  no  questions. 

We  called  for  Whistling  Jim  when  General 
Forrest  had  gone,  but  he  was  nowhere  to  be 
found.  He  had  shown  us  the  way  to  the  cabin 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  27 

and  then  disappeared.  I  judged  that  he  was 
afraid  Jack  Bledsoe  would  upbraid  him  or  that 
Harry  would  give  him  a  scolding;  but,  whatever 
his  reasons,  he  disappeared  when  we  went  in  the 
cabin,  and  we  saw  him  no  more  till  the  next  morn 
ing. 

Harry  and  Jack  talked  of  old  times  until  the 
woman  was  compelled  to  warn  the  wounded  man 
that  it  would  be  worse  for  him  if  he  excited  him 
self.  But  he  talked  away  in  spite  of  the  warn 
ing.  He  talked  of  his  sister  Katherine,  much  to 
Harry's  delight,  and  told  of  his  own  sweetheart  in 
Missouri.  His  colonel,  he  said,  was  very  fond 
of  Katherine,  but  he  declared  that  Kate  still 
thought  of  Harry,  whereupon  the  young  fellow 
blushed  and  looked  as  silly  as  a  school-girl. 

Tom  Ryder  was  the  Colonel's  name,  and  he 
had  a  sister  Lucy.  Miss  Lucy  was  Jack's  choice 
out  of  a  thousand,  he  said.  The  main  trouble 
with  Jack  was  that  his  sweetheart's  sister,  Jane 
Ryder,  didn't  like  him — and  so  forth  and  so  on, 
till  I  nodded  where  I  sat,  and  dreamed  of  Kath 
erine  and  Jane  and  Lucy  Ryder,  until  someone 
took  me  by  the  arm  and  told  me  that  it  was  time 
to  be  up  and  going. 


28  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

We  delayed  our  departure  on  one  excuse  and 
another,  until  finally  Bill,  who  was  to  be  our 
guide,  grew  irritable;  and  even  then  we  made  a 
further  delay  while  Jack  pencilled  a  note  to  his 
colonel,  which  Harry  was  to  take  charge  of  as 
long  as  there  was  danger  of  his  capture  by  rov 
ing  bands  of  Federals,  and  then  it  was  to  be 
given  to  the  guide,  who  thought  he  could  insure 
its  delivery. 

When  we  were  ready,  and  could  invent  no  fur 
ther  excuse,  Harry  turned  to  Jack.  "The  war 
doesn't  touch  us,  dear  boy.  Good-by,  and  don't 
fail  to  put  in  a  good  word  for  me  when  you  go 
home." 

Jack  Bledsoe's  face  brightened  up.  "That's 
so!"  he  exclaimed;  "I  can  go  home  now.  Well, 
you  may  depend  on  me,  Harry;  but  the  two  Miss 
Ryders  are  all  the  other  way,  and  I'll  be  between 
,  i  two  fires.  Tell  Whistling  Jim  I  have  no  hard 
feelings.  He  has  really  done  me  a  favor,  if 
things  turn  out  no  worse  than  they  are." 

We  bade  our  friend  good-by  again  and  went 
out  into  the  damp  morning  air,  each  with  his  vari 
ous  thoughts.  I  congratulated  myself  that  mine 
had  little  to  do  with  the  troublesome  sex.  The 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  29 

fog,  hanging  heavily  over  the  river,  shut  out  the 
sunlight.  We  had  to  take  the  guide's  word  for 
that,  for  we  could  see  no  sign  of  the  sun.  In 
deed,  it  was  so  dark  that  we  had  considerable  diffi 
culty  in  making  our  way.  But  when  we  were  on 
the  other  side,  and  had  mounted  the  somewhat 
steep  bank,  the  fog  disappeared  and  the  sun 
shone  out;  and  not  far  away  we  saw  Whistling 
Jim  and  the  horses. 

He  hailed  our  coming  with  delight,  for  he  had 
been  waiting  some  time,  and  he  was  both  cold  and 
frightened.  He  took  off  his  hat,  as  he  said,  to 
old  King  Sun,  and  he  seemed  to  feel  all  the  bet 
ter  for  it;  and  we  all  felt  better  when  our  horses 
were  between  our  knees.  Even  the  horses  felt 
better,  for  they  whinnied  as  we  mounted,  and 
were  for  going  at  a  more  rapid  gait  than  was 
necessary. 

We  entered  the  scrub  timber  and  went 
through  it  for  half  a  mile  or  more,  and  then  sud 
denly  came  out  on  the  public  highway.  The 
guide  suggested  that  we  smarten  up  our  gait, 
and  we  put  the  horses  to  a  canter.  I  thought 
surely  that  the  man  would  give  out,  but  he 
merely  caught  hold  of  my  stirrup  to  help  him 


30  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

along,  and  when  we  came  to  a  cross-road,  and 
halted  at  his  suggestion,  he  showed  as  little 
fatigue  as  the  horses — this  man  who  seemed  too 
frail  to  walk  a  mile. 

Here  he  gave  us  such  instructions  as  seemed 
necessary,  and  was  just  about  to  so-long  us,  as 
he  said,  when  he  paused  with  his  hand  to  his  ear. 
"I'll  be  whopped,"  he  exclaimed,  "ef  I  don't  hear 
buggy -wheels,  an'  they're  comin'  right  this  way." 
With  that  he  slipped  into  the  bushes,  and,  though 
I  knew  where  he  was  concealed,  it  was  impossi 
ble  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  him. 

There  was  a  bend  in  the  road  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  ahead  of  us,  and  we  waited  expectantly, 
while  Whistling  Jim,  with  a  cunning  for  which 
I  did  not  give  him  credit,  pretended  to  be  fixing 
his  saddle-girth.  As  we  waited  a  top-buggy 
rounded  the  bend  in  the  road  and  came  bowling 
toward  us.  It  was  surprising  to  see  a  buggy, 
but  I  was  more  surprised  when  its  occupant 
turned  out  to  be  a  woman — a  woman  in  a  top- 
buggy,  riding  between  two  hostile  armies! 


IV 

The  lady  made  no  pause  whatever,  and  appar 
ently  was  not  at  all  surprised  to  find  soldiers  in 
the  road  ahead  of  her.  She  was  not  large,  and 
yet  she  had  a  certain  dignity  of  deportment.  She 
was  not  youthful,  neither  was  she  old,  but  she 
was  very  grave-looking,  as  if  she  had  seen  trouble 
or  was  expecting  to  see  it.  Under  any  other  cir 
cumstances  I  should  have  paid  small  attention  to 
her,  but  the  situation  was  such  that  I  was  com 
pelled  to  regard  her  with  both  interest  and 
curiosity.  Almost  in  a  moment  my  curiosity 
took  the  shape  of  sympathy,  for  there  was  some 
thing  in  the  pale  face  that  commanded  it. 

She  was  accompanied  by  a  very  clean-looking 
officer  on  horseback,  and  he,  in  turn,  was  followed 
by  a  small  escort  of  cavalry — I  did  not  take  the 
trouble  to  count  them,  for  my  eyes  were  all  for 
the  lady;  and  it  was  left  to  Harry  Herndon  to 
realize  the  fact  that  we  were  in  something  of  a 

31 


32  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

pickle  should  the  officer  take  advantage  of  the 
position  in  which  he  found  us.  He  saw  at  once 
that  our  capture  was  a  certainty  unless  we  took 
prompt  measures  to  provide  against  it,  and  he 
was  quick  to  suggest  that  we  adopt  the  tactics  of 
Forrest  and  ride  at  them  if  they  made  a  display 
of  hostilities.  I  had  just  time  to  shift  my  car 
bine  to  the  front  under  my  overcoat  and  loosen 
the  flap  of  my  holsters  when  the  lady  drove  up. 
We  raised  our  hats  as  she  came  up,  and  made  way 
for  her  to  pass. 

But  she  did  nothing  of  the  sort.  She  brought 
her  horse  to  a  halt.  "Good-morning,"  she  said, 
as  cool  as  a  cucumber.  "You  can't  deceive  us 
with  your  blue  overcoats;  you  are  both  rebels. 
Oh,  I  have  heard  more  of  you  Southerners  than 
can  be  found  in  the  newspapers." 

"I'm  sure  we  had  no  thought  of  deceiving  you," 
responded  Harry  with  one  of  his  engaging 
smiles.  "We  are  from  the  South,  and  you  are 
from  the  North,  of  course.  It  may  be  that  we 
are  well  met." 

"Oh,  no!  not  this  time.  I  have  seen  prisoners 
taken  before,"  remarked  the  lady  with  a  little 
smile. 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  33 

"Then  you'll  not  flinch  to  see  them  taken 
again,"  said  Harry  very  boldly.  "But  I  shall 
regret  to  put  you  to  any  inconvenience." 

I  think  the  confident  air  of  Harry  saved  us 
considerable  trouble  at  the  moment;  but  while  he 
was  putting  on  a  bold  front  and  trembling  in  his 
shoes — as  he  told  me  afterward — I  had  my  eyes 
on  the  lady.  She  looked  at  me  once,  and  turned 
her  face  away;  twice,  and  frowned;  thrice,  and 
blushed.  "I  was  afraid  at  first  that  you  were  a 
prisoner,"  I  remarked  in  a  tone  that  was  intended 
to  be  apologetic,  but  the  lady  calmly  turned  her 
head  away  and  ignored  me. 

"To  what  command  are  you  attached?"  in 
quired  the  Federal  officer,  very  brusquely. 

"We  are  serving  under  General  Forrest,"  re 
plied  Harry. 

"Why  are  you  so  far  away  from  your  com 
mand?"  the  officer  inquired  with  real  curiosity. 
His  tone  was  so  puzzling  that  Harry  hesitated 
an  instant — but  in  that  instant  a  detachment  of 
Forrest's  troopers  came  around  the  bend  in  the 
road. 

"Are  we  indeed  so  very  far  from  our  com 
mand?"  I  inquired. 


34  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

The  troopers  came  rattling  up,  and  the  officer 
turned  to  the  lady,  somewhat  ungraciously,  I 
thought,  with  the  remark  that  they  had  been  led 
into  an  ambuscade. 

This  was  so  ridiculous  that  I  laughed  aloud, 
though  I  felt  little  like  laughing.  "What 
amuses  you?"  the  lady  asked  in  some  surprise. 
"I  am  sure  I  can  see  nothing  humorous  in  our 
situation." 

"Perhaps  you  have  heard  ladies  placed  under 
such  accusations  before?"  I  suggested. 

"Miss  Ryder  knows  I  meant  no  such  thing," 
said  the  officer  with  some  heat. 

"Is  this  Miss  Lucy  Ryder?"  I  inquired. 

"What  do  you  know  of  Lucy  Ryder?"  the  lady 
asked. 

"I  know  she  has  a  sister  Jane,"  I  answered, 
whereupon  the  lady  blushed  again.  "And  I  have 
heard  that  Miss  Jane  doesn't  like  a  friend  of  ours 
— a  young  fellow  named  Jack  Bledsoe,  who  is 
greatly  in  need  of  sympathy  at  this  time." 

"I  like  him  well  enough  to  go  on  a  wild-goose 
chase  in  search  of  him,"  the  lady  replied.  "We 
had  an  idea  that  he  had  been  left  on  the  battle 
field." 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  35 

Harry,  who  had  been  consulting  with  our  com 
rades  who  had  just  arrived,  returned  in  time  to 
overhear  a  part  of  this  conversation.  He  fum 
bled  in  his  pocket  and  finally  produced  Jack 
Bledsoe's  note.  He  lifted  his  hat  as  he  handed 
it  to  the  lady.  She  read  it  very  calmly,  and  then 
passed  it  to  the  Federal  officer  who  had  escorted 
her:  "You  see,  I  am  justified  in  coming." 

"We  sat  up  with  Jack  last  night,  my  friend 
and  I,"  Harry  remarked. 

"Well,  you  know  the  Bible  tells  us  to  love  our 
enemies,"  remarked  the  lady,  dryly. 

"It  was  an  easy  matter  to  carry  out  the  com 
mandment  in  this  particular  instance,  for,  with 
the  exception  of  this  gentleman  here" — indicat 
ing  me — "Jack  Bledsoe  is  the  dearest  friend  I 
ever  had." 

"I  know  you  well  enough,"  the  lady  remarked 
with  a  smile.  "You  are  Harry  Herndon,  and 
your  friend  there  is  Carroll  Shannon,  and  the 
negro  is  Whistling  Jim.  Why,  I  know  your 
grandmother,  although  I  have  never  seen  her." 

"That  doesn't  help  us  now.  How  are  we  to 
find  Captain  Bledsoe?"  asked  the  officer.  I 
could  have  slapped  him  for  the  tone  he  employed. 


36  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"It  is  all  provided  for,"  replied  Harry  Hern- 
don,  curtly.  "All  you  have  to  do  is  to  hold  on 
to  the  pommel  of  your  saddle.  There  is  a  non- 
combatant  here  who  will  guide  you.  Bill!" 

"I'm  a-lis'nin'  at  ye,"  responded  the  guide 
from  the  bushes. 

"This  is  one  of  the  natives,"  Harry  explained. 
"His  wife  is  taking  care  of  Jack  Bledsoe  and  he 
will  have  no  difficulty  whatever  in  showing  you 
the  way." 

The  officer  thanked  us  ungraciously,  though 
why  he  took  that  attitude  I  was  unable  to  dis 
cover,  and  we  were  on  the  point  of  joining  our 
comrades  when  the  lady  remarked:  "You'll  prob 
ably  know  me  again  when  you  see  me,  Mr.  Car 
roll  Shannon!"  This  was  a  rebuke,  I  knew,  and 
it  upset  me  not  a  little,  but  there  was  something 
in  the  tone  of  her  voice  that  sounded  like  a  chal 
lenge,  and  I  remarked  that  I  should  be  sure  to 
know  her.  "Then  call  my  attention  to  the  fact 
when  you  next  see  me,"  she  cried  as  she  touched 
up  her  horse. 

"With  great  pleasure,"  I  answered,  raising 
my  hat,  and  with  that  we  were  off  to  join  our 
waiting  comrades.  It  seemed  that  General  For- 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  37 

rest  was  somewhat  concerned  for  our  safety, 
knowing  that  the  country  was  strange  to  us,  and 
he  had  sent  William  Forrest's  company  of  Inde 
pendents  to  watch  the  road  for  us  so  that  we 
might  come  to  no  harm.  While  engaged  in 
carrying  out  this  order  they  saw  the  lady  and  her 
escort  far  ahead  of  them,  and  a  detachment  was 
sent  to  investigate,  the  rest  of  the  company  re 
maining  to  see  whether  other  Federals  would  fol 
low.  Thus  they  came  upon  us  in  the  very  nick 
of  time,  for  I  judge  that  the  Federal  officer  would 
have  held  us  prisoners,  in  spite  of  the  information 
we  had  for  him,  for  he  was  very  gruff  and 
surly. 

We  reached  the  recruiting  camp  at  Murfrees- 
borough  without  further  incident,  and  Harry 
and  I  soon  settled  down  to  the  routine  of  duties 
that  fell  to  our  share.  Harry  served  General 
Forrest  temporarily  as  a  courier,  while  I  was  bil 
leted  with  Captain  Bill  Forrest's  company  of  In 
dependents,  sometimes  known  as  the  Forty 
Thieves,  owing  to  their  ability  as  foragers. 

I  had  time  to  ramble  about  in  the  woods,  and 
I  took  advantage  of  it  to  explore  the  whole  coun 
tryside  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  camp.  Re- 


38  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

turning  one  day  from  a  ride  that  was  partly  on 
business  and  partly  for  pleasure,  I  was  informed 
that  General  Forrest  had  sent  for  me.  When  I 
responded  to  his  summons  he  was  reading  a  late 
copy  of  the  Chattanooga  Rebel,  and  was  evi 
dently  much  interested  in  what  he  read.  He 
handed  the  paper  to  me  when  he  had  finished, 
and  pointed  out  an  article  that  was  printed  under 
a  great  display  of  black  type. 

A  Federal  scout,  Leroy  by  name,  and  well 
known  in  both  armies  (so  the  newspaper  said), 
had  entered  General  Bragg's  lines  under  very 
peculiar  circumstances  and  had  then  managed  to 
escape.  Two  pickets  had  been  found  bound  and 
gagged.  The  whole  story  appeared  to  be  ab 
surd. 

It  was  stated,  among  other  things,  that  the 
scout  intended  to  turn  his  attention  to  General 
Forrest.  He  directed  my  eye  to  this,  and  said 
he  wanted  me  to  take  the  matter  in  hand.  I 
inquired  how  the  correspondent  knew  the  inten 
tions  of  the  scout. 

"Why,  he  guessed  'em,"  replied  General  For 
rest,  "and  he  guessed  right,  too.  I've  got  infor 
mation  from  one  of  my  men  who  is  thick  with 


'I  want  you  to  catch  this  fellow  and  fetch  him  to 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  39 

the  Yankees  that  this  chap  will  soon  be  nosing 
around  here,  and  I  want  to  give  him  the  worth 
of  his  money.  I  don't  want  the  other  side  to 
know  how  many  men  I've  got,  and  I  don't  want 
'em  to  know  that  my  superior  officer  has  refused 
to  honor  my  requisition  for  arms  and  horses.  I'd 
cut  a  purty  figure  with  the  Yankees  if  they 
know'd  that  some  of  my  men  had  muskets  that 
were  used  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  If  they 
found  this  out  I'd  never  whip  another  fight. 
And  there's  another  thing:  I  don't  want  to  have 
it  said  that  any  Yankee  scout  can  stick  his  nose 
in  my  camp  and  not  git  it  pulled.  That's  why 
I  sent  for  you;  I  want  you  to  catch  this  fellow 
and  fetch  him  to  me." 

I  tried  hard  to  get  out  of  the  difficulty.  I  pro 
tested  that  I  didn't  know  the  scout  from  a  side  of 
sole  leather.  But  the  General  said  that  this  was 
one  of  his  reasons  for  detailing  me  to  perform 
this  duty.  He  said  he  would  have  given  it  to 
Jasper  Goodrum,  of  the  Independents,  but 
everybody  in  Tennessee  knew  Goodrum. 

"He  was  born  and  raised  around  here,"  the 
General  said,  "and  he's  got  a  tongue  like  a  bell- 
clapper.  Now,  you're  not  much  of  a  talker,  and 


40  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

your  face  gives  you  the  look  of  a  big  baby  that 
has  got  out  of  its  mammy's  yard  and  don't  know 
how  to  git  back."  I  suppose  I  must  have  turned 
red  under  this  back -handed  compliment,  for  he 
went  on,  "I  wish  I  had  a  thousand  like  you.  I 
watched  you  that  day  on  the  hill  and  at  the  river, 
and  you  may  put  it  down  that  I'll  trust  you  any 
where." 

I  tried  to  thank  the  General  for  his  confidence, 
but  he  stayed  me  by  a  gesture.  He  settled  all 
the  details  that  could  be  thought  of  beforehand, 
and,  as  I  turned  to  go,  he  rose  from  his  chair  and 
followed  me  to  the  door.  "If  you  have  to  shoot 
that  fellow,"  he  said,  "do  it  and  don't  wait  too 
long  before  you  do  it;  and  if  you  have  to  shoot 
two  or  three  men,  don't  let  that  stand  in  your  way 
— charge  'em  up  to  me.  But  you  must  catch 
that  fellow;  I  want  to  string  him  up  just  to  show 
the  balance  of  'em  that  they  can't  fool  with 


me." 


As  everything  had  been  arranged  to  my  hand 
I  was  soon  going  about  the  camp  and  the  town 
arrayed  in  jeans  clothes  and  looking  like  any 
thing  but  a  soldier.  I  had  thought  to  surprise 
Whistling  Jim,  the  negro,  with  my  garb,  but, 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  41 

as  it  turned  out,  the  surprise  was  mine,  for  that 
night,  when  I  went  to  see  whether  the  horses  had 
been  properly  groomed  and  fed,  I  found  the  door 
of  the  stable  unlocked.  I  was  not  only  surprised 
but  irritated.  Both  Harry  Herndon  and  myself 
had  tried  hard  to  impress  the  negro  with  the 
necessity  of  taking  unusual  precautions  to  secure 
the  safety  of  the  horses,  for  they  had  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  whole  camp,  which  was  full 
of  questionable  characters,  some  of  whom  would 
have  answered  to  their  names  if  Falstaif  had  ap 
peared  to  call  the  roll  of  his  ragamuffins. 

The  key  had  been  turned  in  the  lock,  but  the 
bolt  of  the  lock  had  failed  to  catch  in  the  socket. 
It  was  plain  that  the  negro  thought  he  had  locked 
the  door,  but  it  was  quite  as  plain  that  he  had 
been  careless,  and  I  made  a  resolution  then  and 
there  to  look  after  the  safety  of  the  horses  my 
self.  I  swallowed  more  than  half  of  my  irrita 
tion  when  I  found  that  the  horses  were  in  their 
stalls,  warmly  blanketed,  and  an  abundance  of 
food  before  them.  I  was  on  the  point  of  locking 
the  door  with  my  own  key,  when  I  heard  the 
sound  of  approaching  footsteps.  There  were 
two  men,  civilians,  as  I  judged,  and  one  of  them 


42  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

stuttered.  Their  conversation  was  of  a  nature 
to  interest  me. 

They  paused  near  the  door  of  the  stable. 
"This  is  the  place  where  they  keep  them,"  re 
marked  one  of  the  men.  "They  are  the  finest 
horses  in  the  rebel  army,  and  it  would  be  a  good 
job  to  run  them  into  the  Union  lines  some  fine 
night.  I  know  a  man  that  would  pay  a  cracking 
good  price  for  them." 

"But  the  nigger  sleeps  in  there  with  'em,"  said 
the  other  man,  "and  what  are  you  going  to  do 
about  him?" 

"That's  as  easy  as  picking  up  rocks  in  the 
road.  A  nigger  will  sell  his  immortal  soul  for 
ten  dollars,  and  I'll  git  him  to  leave  the  door  open 
some  night  when  he's  got  a  job  of  jiggering  on 
the  peanner  and  whistling  with  his  mouth  at  the 
tavern  in  the  woods." 

"But  that's  horse-stealing." 

"No,  it  ain't;  it's  turn  and  turn  about.  How 
many  horses  has  old  Forrest  took  from  the  loyal 
citizens  of  Tennessee?  You  couldn't  count  'em 
if  you  was  to  try.  I'll  give  you  three  hundred 
dollars  for  them  three  horses  delivered  at  my 
brother's  house — three  hundred  dollars  in  gold — 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  43 

and  you'll  have  two  men  to  help  you.  Don't  you 
call  that  picking  up  money?" 

"An'  whilst  I'm  a-gittin'  the  horses,  what'll 
you  be  doing?" 

"Ain't  I  told  you?"  answered  the  man  with 
some  display  of  irritation.  "I'll  be  putting  up 
the  money,  the  cold  cash.  What  more  do  you 
want?  I've  always  heard  that  good  money  is 
good  enough  for  anybody." 

They  passed  on,  and  I  slipped  from  the  stable, 
taking  care  to  lock  it  behind  me,  and  followed 
them. 


I  have  never  spent  a  more  disagreeable  hour  than 
that  which  passed  while  I  was  engaged  in  follow 
ing  the  two  men  for  the  purpose  of  identifying 
them.  The  weather  was  cold  and  the  night  dark, 
and  there  were  peppery  little  showers  of  sleet. 
The  two  left  the  town  proper  and  turned  into  a 
by-way  that  I  had  travelled  many  times  in  my 
rambles  in  the  countryside.  I  knew  that  it  led 
to  a  house  that  had  been  built  for  a  suburban 
home,  but  now,  in  the  crowded  condition  of  the 
town,  was  used  as  a  tavern.  It  had  attracted  the 
•  suspicion  of  General  Forrest  and  I  knew  that 
he  had  placed  it  under  the  surveillance  of  the 
Independents.  It  was  a  very  orderly  public- 
house,  however,  and  nothing  had  ever  occurred 
there  to  justify  the  suspicions  of  the  General. 

The  two  men  I  followed  could  have  reached 
their  destination  in  less  than  twenty  minutes  if 
they  had  gone  forward  with  the  briskness  that 

44 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  45 

the  weather  justified;  but  there  was  an  argument 
of  some  kind  between  them — I  judged  that  the 
stuttering  man  had  no  stomach  for  the  part  he 
was  to  play  as  a  horse-thief.  At  any  rate,  there 
was  a  dispute  of  some  kind,  and  they  stopped  on 
the  road  at  least  half  a  dozen  times  to  have  it  out. 
One  point  settled,  another  would  arise  before 
they  had  gone  far,  and  then  they  would  stop 
again;  and  at  last,  so  dark  did  the  wood  become, 
and  so  low  their  conversation  grew,  that  I  passed 
within  three  feet  of  them  and  never  knew  it  until 
it  was  too  late  to  betray  the  astonishment  I  nat 
urally  felt. 

I  simply  jogged  along  the  path  and  pretended 
that  I  had  not  seen  them.  I  went  along  briskly, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  came  to  the  tavern.  The 
door  was  shut,  the  weather  being  cold,  but  I  knew 
by  the  lights  shining  through  the  windows  that  a 
hospitable  fire  was  burning  on  the  hearth.  There 
was  no  need  to  knock  at  the  door.  I  heard  the 
jangling  piano  playing  an  accompaniment  to  the 
flute-like  whistling  of  Harry  Herndon's  negro. 
Remembering  his  carelessness,  I  felt  like  going 
into  the  tavern  and  giving  him  a  f  railing.  The 
inclination  was  so  strong  that  I  held  my  hand  on 


46  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

the  door-knob  until  the  first  flush  of  anger  had 
subsided.  It  was  a  very  fortunate  thing  for  me, 
as  it  turned  out,  that  Whistling  Jim  was  present, 
but  at  the  moment  the  turn  of  a  hair  would  have 
caused  me  to  justify  much  that  the  people  of  the 
North  have  said  in  regard  to  the  cruelty  of  South 
erners  to  the  negro. 

The  guests  and  visitors — and  there  were  quite 
a  number — made  room  for  me  at  the  fire,  the 
landlord  provided  me  with  a  chair  and  welcomed 
me  very  heartily,  taking  it  for  granted  that  I  was 
from  the  country  and  would  want  a  bed  for  the 
night.  On  the  wide  hearth  a  very  cheerful  fire 
burned,  and  the  place  reminded  me  somehow  of 
home — particularly  a  big  rocking-chair  in  which 
one  of  the  guests  was  seated.  It  had  an  up 
holstered  seat  and  back,  and  the  high  arms  were 
made  more  comfortable  by  a  covering  of  the  same 
material.  It  was  a  fac-simile  of  a  chair  that  we 
had  at  home,  and  I  longed  to  occupy  it,  if  only 
for  the  sake  of  old  times. 

Among  those  who  were  taking  their  ease  at 
this  suburban  inn  was  Jasper  Goodrum,  one  of 
my  comrades.  He  was  a  noted  scout  as  well  as 
a  seasoned  soldier.  He  looked  at  me  hard  as  I 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  47 

entered,  and  continued  to  watch  me  furtively  for 
some  time,  and  then  his  face  cleared  up  and  I 
knew  that  he  had  recognized  me.  He  was  in 
civilian's  clothes,  and  I  knew  by  that  that  he  did 
not  care  to  be  recognized.  So  I  turned  my  atten 
tion  elsewhere.  But  in  a  little  while  he  seemed  to 
have  changed  his  mind,  and,  suddenly  rising  from 
his  chair,  came  to  me  with  outstretched  hand. 

It  was  a  mixed  company  around  the  fire. 
There  was  a  big  Irishman,  who  leaned  calmly 
back  in  a  small  chair  and  smoked  a  short  pipe. 
More  than  once  I  caught  his  bright  eyes  study 
ing  my  face,  but  his  smile  was  ample  apology  for 
his  seeming  rudeness.  He  was  as  handsome  a 
man  as  I  had  ever  seen,  and  if  I  had  been  search 
ing  for  a  friend  on  whom  to  depend  in  an  emer 
gency  I  should  have  selected  him  out  of  a  thou 
sand. 

There  was  a  short-haired  man  who  was  built 
like  a  prize-fighter.  He  wore  a  sarcastic  smile 
on  his  face,  and  his  shifty  eyes  seemed  to  be  con 
stantly  looking  for  a  resting-place.  He  had  a 
thick  neck  and  jaw  like  a  bull-dog.  I  marked 
him  down  in  my  mental  note-book  as  dangerous. 
There  was  a  tall  and  pious-looking  man,  and  two 


48  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

or  three  civilians  who  had  no  particular  points 
about  them ;  and  then  there  was  a  burly  man,  who 
sat  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets  and  did  nothing 
but  chew  tobacco  and  gaze  in  the  fire,  uttering 
not  one  word  until  some  of  the  company  fell  to 
discussing  Captain  Leroy,  the  famous  Union 
scout.  When  Leroy's  name  was  mentioned  the 
burly  man  was  quick  to  join  in  the  conversa 
tion. 

"There  ain't  a  word  of  truth  in  all  this  stuff 
you  hear  about  Leroy,"  he  said,  and  his  manner 
was  more  emphatic  than  the  occasion  seemed  to 
demand.  "He's  in  the  newspapers,  and  he  ain't 
anywhere  else  on  top  of  the  ground.  I  know 
what  I'm  a-talking  about.  Leroy  is  the  inven 
tion  of  Franc  Paul,  of  the  Chattanooga  Rebel. 
He  as  good  as  told  me  so.  He  said  that  when 
he  wanted  to  stir  up  talk  and  create  a  sensation 
he  had  something  written  about  this  Captain 
Frank  Leroy.  He's  a  paper  man  and  he's  able 
"  to  do  anything  the  newspapers  want  done." 

"You  talk  like  you  had  gray  hair,"  said  the 
man  that  looked  like  a  prize-fighter;  "but  you're 
givin'  away  a  mighty  big  secret.  What  are  you 
doin'  it  for?  Say!" 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  49 

"Oh,  because  I'm  tired  of  all  this  talk  about  a 
man  that  doesn't  live  outside  of  the  mind  of  a 
newspaper  man." 

The  big  Irishman,  who  had  been  smoking  and 
watching  me  with  a  shrewd  smile  hovering  about 
his  mouth,  began  to  chuckle  audibly.  He  kept 
it  up  so  long  that  it  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
company. 

"What  tickles  you,  my  friend?"  the  burly  man 
asked. 

"Maybe  ye  know  Franc  Paul?"  he  inquired. 
His  countenance  was  an  interrogation-point. 
The  man  answered  somewhat  sullenly  in  the 
affirmative.  "Is  there  anny  risimblance  bechune 
him  an'  me?" 

"Not  the  slightest  in  the  world,"  the  man  an 
swered. 

"Thin  ye'd  have  a  quarrel  wit'  his  wife  an' 
she'd  have  all  the  advantages,"  said  the  Irishman 
with  a  laugh.  "F'r  no  longer  than  the  last  time 
I  was  at  Chattanooga,  Missus  Paul  says,  'It's  a 
good  thing,  Mr.  O'Halloran,'  she  says,  'that  ye're 
a  hair's  breadth  taller  than  me  beloved  husband/  1  <, 
she  says,  'or  I'd  niver  tell  ye  apart.  Only  the 
sharp  eyes  av  a  wife  or  a  mither,'  she  says,  'could  \ 


50  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

pick  out  me  husband  if  he  stood  be  your  side,'  she 
says." 

"I  must  say,"  remarked  the  pious-looking  man, 
"that  you  gentlemen  were  never  more  mistaken 
in  your  lives  when  you  hint  that  there  is  no  such 
person  as  Frank  Leroy.  I  knew  him  when  he 
was  a  boy — a  beardless  boy,  as  you  may  say.  In 
fact,  his  father  was  my  next-door  neighbor  in 
Knoxville,  and  I  used  to  see  Frank  reading  old 
Brownlow's  paper." 

"Don't  think  ut!"  replied  the  Irishman,  and 
with  that  all  joined  in  the  conversation  and  I 
heard  more  of  the  perilous  adventures  and  hair 
breadth  escapes  of  Captain  Frank  Leroy  than 
you  could  put  in  a  book.  It  seemed  that  his 
identity  was  a  mystery,  but  he  was  none  the  less 
a  hero  in  men's  minds  because  his  very  existence 
had  been  called  in  question;  for  people  will  hug 
delusions  to  their  bosoms  in  the  face  of  religion 
itself,  as  we  all  know. 

The  door  of  an  inner  room  was  open,  and  I 
could  hear  a  conversation  going  on.  One  of  the 
participants  was  the  stuttering  man,  whose  voice 
I  had  heard  before  the  stable-door,  and  at  a  mo 
ment  when  I  thought  that  my  movements  would 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  51 

attract  no  attention  I  took  advantage  of  the  free 
dom  of  a  public-house  and  sauntered  aimlessly 
into  the  room  as  if  I  had  no  particular  business 
there.  I  saw  with  surprise  that  the  chap  who 
had  proposed  to  steal  the  horses  was  one  of  the 
merchants  of  the  town  at  whose  store  I  had  occa 
sionally  traded.  In  the  far  end  of  the  room, 
reading  a  newspaper  by  the  light  of  a  small  fire, 
sat  a  slip  of  a  youth.  He  wore  a  military  cloak 
that  covered  his  figure  from  his  neck  to  his  top- 
boots. 

I  saw  that  he  was  not  so  absorbed  in  the  paper 
that  he  failed  to  make  a  note  of  my  presence  in 
the  room,  and  he  shifted  himself  around  in  his 
chair  so  that  he  could  get  a  better  view  of  me,  and 
still  leave  his  face  in  the  shadow.  Near  him  sat 
a  motherly-looking  woman  of  fifty.  She  was 
well  preserved  for  her  age,  and  wore  a  smile  on 
her  face  that  was  good  to  look  at.  The  young 
ster  said  something  to  her  in  a  low  tone,  and  she 
immediately  turned  her  attention  to  me.  Some 
other  words  passed  between  the  two,  and  then  the 
woman  beckoned  to  me.  I  obeyed  the  summons 
with  alacrity,  for  I  liked  her  face. 

"You  seem  to  be  lonely,"  she  said.     "Have  a 


52  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

seat  by  our  little  fire.  This  is  not  a  guest-room, 
but  we  have  been  so  overrun  lately  that  we  have 
had  to  turn  it  over  to  the  public."  She  paused 
a  moment  and  then  went  on.  "You  are  over- 
young  to  be  in  the  army,"  she  suggested. 

She  had  turned  so  that  she  looked  me  full  in 
the  face,  and  there  was  a  kindly,  nay,  a  generous 
light  in  her  eyes,  and  I  could  no  more  have  lied 
to  her  in  the  matter  than  I  could  have  lied  to 
my  own  mother  if  she  had  been  alive.  "I  do 
not  have  a  very  hard  time  in  the  army,"  I  re 
plied. 

"No,  I  suppose  not,"  she  remarked.  "You 
are  one  to  make  friends  wherever  you  go.  Few 
are  so  fortunate;  I  have  known  only  one  or 
two." 

There  was  a  note  of  sadness  in  her  tones  that 
touched  me  profoundly.  The  cause  I  can't  ex 
plain,  and  the  effect  was  beyond  description.  I 
hesitated  before  making  any  reply,  and  when  I 
did  I  tried  to  turn  it  off  lightly.  "I  never  saw 
but  one,"  I  answered,  "on  whom  I  desired  to 
make  an  impression." 

"And  who  was  that?"  the  woman  inquired  with 
a  bright  smile  of  sympathy. 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  53 

"You  will  think  it  a  piece  of  foolishness,"  I 
replied;  "but  it  was  a  lady  riding  in  a  top-buggy. 
I  had  never  seen  her  before  and  never  expect  to 
see  her  again." 

The  youngster  clutched  his  paper  in  his  hand 
and  turned  in  his  chair.  "The  light  is  detesta 
ble,"  he  said.  "Please  throw  on  a  piece  of  pine, 
mother." 

"You  can't  read  by  such  a  light,"  the  woman 
replied.  "Put  your  paper  in  your  pocket  and 
read  it  to-morrow."  Then  she  turned  to  me. 
"If  you  are  in  the  army,"  she  said,  "why  do  you 
wear  such  clothes?  They  are  not  becoming  at 
all."  She  had  such  a  kindly  smile  and  betrayed 
such  a  friendly  interest  that  it  was  not  in  human 
nature  to  suspect  her — at  least,  it  was  not  in  my 
nature  to  do  so. 

"Why,  mainly  for  comfort,"  I  answered;  "and 
while  I  am  wearing  them  I  am  having  my  uni 
form,  such  as  it  is,  furbished  up  and  cleaned  a 
bit.  I  have  a  few  days'  leave,  and  I  am  taking 
advantage  of  it  in  this  way." 

"I  wish  my  son  here  would  take  advantage  of 
his  short  furlough  to  wear  the  clothes  he  used 
to  wear,"  she  remarked,  and  her  tone  was  so  sig- 


54  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

nificant  that  I  could  but  regard  her  with  a  look 
of  inquiry.  I  suppose  the  puzzled  expression  of 
my  face  must  have  amused  her,  for  she  laughed 
heartily,  while  the  son,  as  if  resenting  his  mother's 
words,  arose  and  swaggered  to  the  other  end  of 
the  room. 

We  had  more  conversation,  and  then  I  re 
turned  to  the  public  room.  Some  of  the  guests 
had  retired,  but  their  places  had  been  taken  by 
others,  and  there  was  a  goodly  company  gathered 
around  the  fire.  I  found  the  big  arm-chair  un 
occupied,  and,  seating  myself  on  its  comfortable 
cushion,  soon  forgot  the  wonder  I  had  felt  that 
the  woman  in  the  next  room  had  known  me  for 
a  soldier.  I  had  accomplished  one  thing — the 
identification  of  the  prospective  horse-thief — and 
I  satisfied  myself  with  that.  As  for  Leroy,  I 
knew  I  should  have  to  trust  to  some  stroke  of 
good  fortune. 

The  comfort  of  the  rocker  appealed  to  me, 
and,  with  my  hands  on  its  arms,  I  leaned  back 
and,  in  spite  of  the  talking  all  around  me,  was 
soon  lost  in  reflection.  Through  long  usage  the 
upholstering  on  the  arms  of  the  chair  had  become 
worn,  and  in  places  the  tufts  of  moss  or  horse- 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  55 

hair  were  showing.  I  fell  to  fingering  these 
with  the  same  impulse  of  thoughtlessness  that 
induces  people  to  bite  their  finger-nails.  Sud 
denly  I  felt  my  finger  in  contact  with  a  small 
roll  of  paper  that  had  been  carefully  pushed  un 
der  the  leather,  and  then  I  remembered  that  the 
last  occupant  of  the  chair  was  the  short-haired 
man — the  man  who  had  the  general  appearance 
of  a  prize-fighter. 

Now,  it  had  occurred  to  me  in  a  dim  way  that 
this  man  might  be  identical  with  Leroy,  and  I 
suspected  that  he  had  left  in  the  chair  a  communi 
cation  for  some  of  his  accomplices.  I  determined 
to  transfer  the  roll  of  paper  to  my  pocket  and 
examine  it  at  my  leisure.  But  no  sooner  had  I 
come  to  this  determination  than  I  imagined  that 
every  person  in  the  room  had  his  eyes  fixed  on  me. 
And  then  the  problem,  if  you  can  call  it  so,  was 
solved  for  me. 

A  stranger  who  had  evidently  arrived  while  I 
was  in  the  next  room  appeared  to  be  regarding 
Whistling  Jim  with  some  curiosity,  and  pres 
ently  spoke  to  him,  inquiring  if  he  was  the  negro 
that  played  on  the  piano.  Whistler  replied  that 
he  could  "sorter"  play.  "If  you  are  Whistling 


56  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

Jim,"  I  said,  "play  us  a  plantation  tune.  I  heard 
a  man  say  the  other  day  that  the  finest  tune  he 
ever  heard  was  one  you  played  for  him.  It  was 
something  about  'My  gal's  sweet.' ' 

The  negro  looked  at  me  hard,  but  something 
in  my  countenance  must  have  conveyed  a  warn 
ing  to  him.  "I  'member  de  man,  suh ;  he  say  he 
wuz  fum  Cincinnati,  an'  he  gun  me  a  fT -dollar 
bill — a  green  one." 

Without  more  ado,  he  went  to  the  piano  and 
plunged  into  the  heart-breaking  melody  of — 

"Yo'  gal's  a  neat  gal,  but  my  gal's  sweet — 

Sweet-a-little,  sweet-a-little,  sweet ,  sweet,  sweet! 
Fum  de  crown  er  her  head  ter  de  soles  er  her  feet — 
Feet-a-little,  feet-a-little,  feet,  feet,  feet!" 

Naturally  all  eyes  were  turned  on  the  performer, 
and  I  took  advantage  of  that  fact  to  rise  from 
the  rocking-chair  with  the  roll  of  paper  safe  in 
my  pocket,  and  saunter  across  the  room  in  the 
direction  of  the  piano.  Leaning  against  a  cor 
ner  of  the  ramshackle  old  instrument,  I  drank  in 
the  melody  with  a  new  sense  of  its  wild  and  mel 
ancholy  beauty.  The  room  in  which  I  stood 
seemed  transformed  into  what  it  never  could  be, 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  57 

and  the  old  piano  shed  its  discord  and  was 
glorified  by  the  marvellous  playing  of  the 
negro. 

The  foolish  little  song  runs  along  for  several 
stanzas,  simulating  the  sound  of  dancing  feet. 
Alternately  the  negro  sang  the  air  and  whistled 
the  chorus,  but  whether  he  did  one  or  the  other, 
the  effect  was  the  same.  The  silly  song  struck 
the  home  note  and  sent  it  vibrating  through  my 
brain  so  invitingly  that  I  was  almost  sorry  that 
Whistling  Jim  had  played  it. 

I  returned  to  earth  when  he  ceased  playing. 
He  looked  hard  at  me  when  he  had  finished,  but 
I  did  not  glance  at  him.  At  the  other  end  of 
the  piano,  leaning  against  it,  and  apparently  lost 
in  thought,  was  the  young  fellow  I  had  seen  in 
the  other  room.  His  cloak  was  thrown  back 
from  his  throat,  and  the  red  lining  gave  a  pic 
turesque  touch  to  his  small,  lithe  figure.  His 
face  was  partly  in  the  shadow,  but  I  could  see 
that  his  expression  was  one  of  profound  melan 
choly.  He  aroused  himself  at  last,  and,  looking 
toward  me,  said  with  a  smile  that  had  no  heart 
in  it,  "If  all  the  negroes  in  the  South  are  so  gifted 
you  must  have  a  happy  time  down  there." 


58  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"So  it  would  seem,"  I  answered,  "but  this 
negro  is  an  exception.  He  tells  me  that  he 
learned  to  play  while  his  old  mistress  was 
away  from  home  looking  after  her  plantation 
interests.  He  can  whistle  better  than  he  can 
play." 

"He  has  great  gifts,"  said  the  lad,  "and  I  trust 
he  is  treated  accordingly;  but  I  doubt  it,"  and 
with  that  he  turned  away  from  the  piano  with  a 
snap  of  thumb  and  finger  that  sounded  for  all 
the  world  like  a  challenge.  He  turned  and  went 
swaggering  across  the  room,  and  seated  himself 
in  the  rocking-chair  of  which  I  have  spoken.  In 
a  word,  and  with  a  snap  of  the  finger,  he  had 
thrown  mud  at  the  whole  South,  and  with  no 
more  excuse  than  I  should  have  had  had  I  made 
an  attack  on  the  North.  Yet  curiosity,  and  not 
irritation,  was  uppermost  in  my  mind. 

His  conduct  was  so  puzzling  that  I  determined 
to  have  another  taste  of  it  if  possible,  and  so  dis 
cover  what  he  would  be  at.  So  I  went  back  to 
the  fire  and  took  a  seat  close  to  his  elbow,  while 
Whistling  Jim  passed  around  his  hat,  as  was  his 
custom  when  he  played  for  company.  He  held 
it  out  to  all  except  the  young  fellow  and  myself, 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  59 

and  then  returned  to  the  piano  and  played  for 
his  own  amusement,  but  so  softly  that  conversa 
tion  could  flow  on  undisturbed. 

I  had  a  good  look  at  the  lad,  and  liked  him  all 
the  better.  His  face  had  in  it  that  indescribable 
quality — a  touch  of  suffering  or  of  sorrow — that 
always  draws  me,  and  I  thought  how  strange  it 
was  that  he  should  sit  there  ignorant  of  the  fact 
that  a  word  or  two  would  make  me  his  friend  for 
life.  I  had  a  great  pity  for  him,  and  there  arose 
in  me  the  belief  that  I  had  met  him  before,  but 
whether  in  reality  or  only  in  a  dream  I  could  not 
make  out.  It  was  a  foolish  and  a  romantic  no 
tion,  but  it  nibbled  around  my  mind  so  persist 
ently  that  I  turned  my  gaze  on  the  fire  and  fell 
into  reflections  that  were  both  teasing  and  pleas 
ing. 

While  thus  engaged  I  suddenly  became  aware 
of  the  fact  that  the  young  fellow  was  fingering 
at  the  worn  place  on  the  chair-arm.  Conversa 
tion  was  going  on  very  briskly.  The  genial 
landlord,  who  had  joined  the  group  at  the  fire, 
was  relating  to  a  listening  and  an  eager  guest 
another  story  of  the  almost  superhuman  per 
formances  of  the  Union  scout,  Leroy,  when  sud- 


60  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

denly  the  lad  arose  from  the  rocker  and  began 
to  search  the  floor  with  his  eyes.  He  had  had 
the  color  of  youth  in  his  cheeks,  in  spite  of  the 
swarthiness  of  his  skin,  and  I  had  admired  the 
combination — your  light -haired  man  is  for  every 
thing  that  has  a  touch  of  the  brunette — but  now 
he  had  gone  white. 

As  he  stooped  to  search  under  my  chair,  I 
jumped  up  and  drew  it  back  politely.  "Pardon 
me  for  disturbing  you,"  he  said;  "I  have  lost  a 
paper." 

"Is  it  of  importance?"  I  inquired,  endeavoring 
to  show  an  interest  in  the  matter. 

"You  would  hardly  think  so,"  he  replied.  "It 
involves  the  safety  of  a  woman."  I  regarded 
him  with  unfeigned  astonishment,  and  he,  in  turn, 
looked  at  me  with  a  face  as  full  of  anger  and  dis 
appointment  as  I  had  ever  beheld. 

"Why,  you  young  rascal!"  I  exclaimed;  "what 
do  you  know  of  me  that  you  should  speak  so? 
For  less  than  nothing  I'll  give  you  a  strapping 
and  send  you  to  your  daddy." 

"You  couldn't  do  me  a  greater  service.  He 
is  in  heaven."  You  may  imagine  my  feelings, 
if  you  can,  when,  as  he  said  this,  he  turned  toward 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  61 

me  a  countenance  from  which  all  feeling  had 
died  out  save  that  of  sadness.  If  he  had  plunged 
a  knife  in  my  vitals  he  could  not  have  hurt  me 
worse.  "Well,  sir,"  he  insisted,  "proceed  with 
your  strapping." 

"You  are  more  than  even  with  me,  my  lad,"  I 
said,  "and  I  humbly  apologize  for  my  words. 
But  why  should  you  be  so  short  with  one  who 
certainly  wishes  you  no  harm?" 

"I  am  unable  to  tell  you.  You  seem  to  be 
always  smiling,  while  I  am  in  trouble:  perhaps 
that  is  why  I  am  irritable."  He  looked  at  me 
hard  as  he  resumed  his  seat  in  the  rocker,  and 
again  I  had  the  curious  feeling  that  I  had  met 
him  somewhere  before — perhaps  in  some  sphere 
of  former  existence.  Memory,  however,  refused 
to  disgorge  the  details,  and  I  could  only  gaze 
helplessly  into  the  fire. 

After  a  little  the  lad  hitched  his  chair  closer  to 
mine,  and  I  could  have  thanked  him  for  that. 
He  drew  on  his  glove  and  drew  it  off  again. 
"Will  you  shake  hands  with  me?"  he  inquired. 
"I  feel  that  I  am  all  to  blame."  As  I  took  his 
hand  in  mine  I  could  but  notice  how  small  and 
soft  it  was. 


62  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"No,  you  are  not  all  to  blame,"  I  said.  "I  am 
ill-mannered  by  nature." 

"I  never  will  believe  it,"  he  declared  with  some 
thing  like  a  smile.  "No,  it  is  not  so." 

Before  I  could  make  any  reply,  in  walked  Jas 
per  Goodrum,  of  the  Independents,  and,  follow 
ing  hard  at  his  heels,  was  the  man  who  had  the 
appearance  of  a  prize-fighter.  This  last  comer 
appeared  to  be  in  a  state  of  great  excitement,  and 
his  brutal,  overbearing  nature  was  clearly  in  evi 
dence.  He  walked  across  the  room  to  my  lad — 
I  was  now  beginning  to  feel  a  proprietary  inter 
est  in  him — and  seized  him  roughly  by  the 
arm. 

"Come  'ere!"  he  said,  and  his  voice  was  thick 
with  anger.  "YouVe  got  more'n  you  bargained 
for.  Come  into  the  next  room;  you  better  had! 
Say,  ain't  you  comin'?"  He  tried  to  pull  the  lad 
along,  but  the  youngster  was  not  to  be  pulled. 

"Don't  touch  me!"  he  exclaimed.  "Don't  you 
dare  to  put  your  hands  on  me.  You  have  lied  to 
me,  and  that  is  enough!"  The  short-haired  man 
was  almost  beside  himself  with  anger,  and  I  could 
see  that  the  lad  would  be  no  match  for  him.  He 
was  not  at  all  frightened,  but  when  he  turned  his 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  63 

eyes  toward  me,  with  a  little  smile,  I  saw  the  face 
of  Jane  Ryder,  the  little  lady  I  had  seen  in  a  top- 
buggy  on  her  way  to  carry  aid  to  Jack  Bledsoe. 
And  instantly  I  was  furious  with  a  blind  rage 
that  stung  me  like  a  thousand  hornets. 

I  rose  and  slapped  the  ruffian  on  the  shoulder 
in  a  way  that  would  have  knocked  an  ordinary 
man  down.  "You  dirty  brute!"  I  cried,  "say  to 
me  what  you  have  to  say  to  the  lad!" 


VI 

The  man  regarded  me  with  an  amazement  that 
soon  flamed  up  into  anger.  His  under- jaw 
stuck  out  ferociously,  and  the  veins  on  his  neck 
and  forehead  were  swollen  with  indignation. 
Before  he  could  say  anything  Jasper  Goodrum 
intervened.  "This  is  partly  my  affair,"  he  said 
to  the  short-haired  man,  "and  you'd  better  leave 
this  countryman  alone." 

"You're  wrong,"  said  the  man;  "it  is  not  your 
affair.  How  can  it  be  when  I  don't  know  you?" 

"Still,"  insisted  Goodrum,  "you'd  better  not 
bother  the  countryman.  You'll  git  yourself  in 
trouble." 

"Trouble !"  he  snorted.  "Say !  that's  what  I'm 
after.  He's  waded  into  the  creek  and  he  can't 
git  out  without  wettin'  his  feet."  Then  he 
turned  to  me,  his  eyes  full  of  venomous  rage. 
"Say!  what  do  you  take  me  for?"  He  came 
closer  and  stuck  his  ugly  mug  near  my  face. 

64 


Whistling  Jim  ran  into  him  head  down  like  a  bull 


A   LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  65 

My  reply  was  made  with  an  exceedingly  will 
ing  mind.  I  struck  him  on  the  jaw  with  my 
open  hand  and  sent  him  reeling.  He  recovered 
his  balance  almost  instantly  and  made  at  me  with 
a  roar  of  rage  and  pain,  but  he  never  reached  me, 
for  Whistling  Jim  ran  into  him  head  down  like 
a  bull.  The  result  was  a  collision  that  put  the 
man  out  of  business  and  knocked  all  the  fight  out 
of  him.  He  lay  on  the  floor  and  rolled  about  in 
an  agony  of  pain,  and  the  negro  stood  over  him, 
apparently  waiting  for  a  fitting  opportunity  to 
put  in  the  finishing  touch,  but  his  hard  head  had 
done  the  work  for  the  time  being. 

I  judged  that  the  ruffian  had  friends  among 
the  guests,  but  when  I  turned  to  keep  an  eye  on 
them  the  room  was  clear.  Even  the  landlord 
had  retired.  The  lad  was  standing  by  my  side, 
and  my  impression  is  that  he  was  holding  me  by 
the  sleeve  of  my  coat.  I  turned  to  him,  and  I 
was  more  certain  than  ever  that  he  was  either 
Jane  Ryder  or  her  brother.  But  it  was  only 
when  she  spoke  again  that  I  was  sure — for  not 
even  a  twin  brother  could  simulate  that  round 
and  singularly  mellow  voice.  "I  am  afraid  you 
have  made  matters  somewhat  hard  for  me,"  she 


66  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

said,  somewhat  sadly,  "and  heaven  knows  that  I 
have  had  trouble  enough  for  one  night." 

"Well,  you  will  have  no  more  trouble  here,  at 
any  rate,"  I  said. 

"I'd  feel  easier  if  I  were  sure  of  that,"  she 
remarked. 

"Be  assured,"  I  answered.  "When  I  leave 
this  house  you  will  go  with  me.  I  propose  to 
take  you  to  your  friends,  if  you  have  any  in  the 
neighborhood;  otherwise  you  go  with  me.  You 
shall  not  stay  here  for  that  ruffian  to  abuse  and 
misuse  you." 

"I'll  go  with  you  as  far  as  the  door  if  only  to 
thank  you  for  the  unnecessary  protection  you 
have  given  me.  There  are  many  things  that  you 
do  not  understand." 

"And  many  that  I  do,"  I  replied  as  signifi 
cantly  as  I  dared.  "I  want  no  thanks,  and  you 
shall  not  remain  in  this  house  to-night.  That  is 
settled."  She  made  a  birdlike  movement  with 
her  head  and  shoulders,  looked  me  up  and  down, 
and  smiled,  but  she  saw  that  I  was  in  earnest,  and 
the  smile  left  her  face. 

"Where  shall  I  go?"  she  asked. 

"Anywhere   but  here,"   I   answered.     "Any- 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  67 

where  away  from  that,"  I  pointed  to  the  man  on 
the  floor.  He  had  raised  himself  to  a  sitting 
posture,  and  was  rocking  himself  to  and  fro  with 
his  arms  hugging  his  knees,  apparently  in  great 
pain. 

"He  is  not  always  as  you  see  him  to-night,"  she 
insisted.  Then  she  turned  to  me  impulsively, 
"I'll  go  with  you;  I  know  a  house  where  I  have 
very  dear  friends.  But  I  must  tell  my  friend 
here  good-night — the  lady  you  spoke  with."  She 
ran  into  the  inner  room,  and  then  I  heard  her 
going  lightly  upstairs.  She  came  down  in  a  mo 
ment  with  color  in  her  face  and  with  some  agita 
tion  in  her  manner.  She  seized  me  by  the  sleeve 
in  a  way  that  no  man  would  have  thought  of, 
exclaiming,  "Let  us  go  at  once — come!"  Her 
sudden  anxiety  to  be  off  took  me  entirely  by 
surprise. 

"You  have  a  horse?"  I  said,  hearing  the  jin 
gling  of  her  spurs.  But  she  declared  that 
her  horse  was  well  enough  off  where  he  was. 
"Come!"  she  said;  "let  us  be  off!" 

"With  all  my  heart,"  I  replied.  I  was  so 
highly  elated  that  I  forgot  for  the  moment  that 
I  was  dealing  with  a  woman,  and  I  threw  my 


68  A   LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

arm  lightly  over  her  shoulder  with  a  gesture  of 
friendliness  and  protection. 

She  threw  it  off  and  shrank  from  it  as  if  it 
were  a  serpent.  "What  do  you  mean?"  she  cried. 
Her  face  was  red  with  anger,  and  her  eyes  were 
blazing  with  scorn.  "Don't  dare  to  touch  me!" 
For  an  instant  I  knew  not  what  to  do  or  say,  and 
then  it  suddenly  occurred  to  me  that  it  would  be 
well  to  hide  from  her  the  fact  that  I  knew  who 
she  was  and  so  I  made  a  great  pretence  of  anger. 
I  seized  her  by  the  arm.  "If  you  give  me  an 
other  word  of  your  impertinence  I'll  carry  out 
my  threat  of  half  an  hour  ago." 

All  the  anger  died  out  of  her  eyes.  "You  hurt 
me,"  she  said  almost  in  a  whisper.  "Oh,  pray 
pardon  me ;  I  have  travelled  far  to-day,  and  I  am 
weak  and  nervous.  Why  did  you  come  here  to 
night?  But  for  you — "  she  paused  and  glanced 
up  into  my  face,  and  placed  her  hand  on  mine. 
And  then  I  would  have  known  if  I  had  not  known 
before  that  she  was  no  other  than  Jane  Ryder, 
the  little  lady  of  the  top-buggy.  I  looked  in 
her  eyes,  and  they  fell;  in  her  face,  and  it  was 
covered  with  blushes;  and  somehow  I  was  hap 
pier  than  I  had  been  in  many  a  long  day. 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  69 

"Come!"  said  I  with  some  sternness,  and  held 
out  my  hand  to  her.  Instinctively  she  seized  it 
and  clung  to  it  as  we  went  out  into  the  night,  fol 
lowed  by  Whistling  Jim. 

"I  have  a  friend  who  lives  farther  up  the  road," 
she  said.  "It  is  not  far,  but  perhaps  it  is  farther 
than  you  care  to  come — and  you  have  no  over 
coat."  I  was  not  thinking  of  what  she  was  say 
ing,  but  of  the  warm  little  hand  that  nestled  so 
confidingly  in  mine.  I  knew  then,  or  thought  I 
knew,  that  this  little  hand  so  soft  and  white,  nes 
tling  in  my  big  paw  like  a  young  bird  under  its 
mother's  wing,  had  the  power  to  make  or  mar 
my  life.  But,  as  is  ever  the  way  with  birdlike 
things,  the  hand  slipped  from  its  nest  and  left  it 
empty. 

She  was  worrying  about  the  ruffian  we  had  left 
on  the  floor.  "The  trouble  with  him,"  I  said,  "is 
that  he  is  selling  information  to  both  sides.  He 
is  an  impostor.  I  think  he  is  the  scout  they  call 
Leroy."  Whereupon  she  gave  utterance  to  a 
laugh  so  merry  that  it  sounded  out  of  place  in 
the  gloomy  woods.  It  brought  Whistling  Jim 
alongside  to  see  what  the  trouble  was.  He  said 


70  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

he  thought  the  young  master  was  crying.  She 
laughed  again,  and  then  suddenly  paused. 

"We  are  very  near  the  house,"  she  said,  "and 
all  who  live  there  are  my  friends.  I  shall  be  per 
fectly  safe  there.  You  have  been  very  kind  to 
me — kinder  than  you  know.  We  have  both  seen 
each  other  at  our  very  worst.  Should  we  meet 
again,  I  hope  we  shall  appear  to  better  advan- 
tage." 

She  had  entirely  recovered  her  self-possession, 
but  in  doing  so  she  forgot  the  part  she  was 
playing,  forgot  that  she  was  arrayed  in  the 
toggery  of  a  man,  and  was  now  altogether  a 
woman.  I  do  not  remember  all  that  was  said,  but 
I  tried  as  hard  as  I  could  to  conceal  from  her 
the  fact  that  I  had  discovered  her  sex  and  her 
identity;  I  had  not  the  least  desire  to  humiliate 
her  by  airing  my  penetration.  She  stood  silent 
for  a  while,  as  if  in  thought,  or  perhaps  she  was 
waiting  for  me  to  say  farewell. 

"You  will  do  well  to  go  in,"  I  said.  "The 
night  is  cold  and  damp." 

"The  cold  and  the  damp  are  nothing  to  me," 

t  she  replied.     "I  am  warm  enough.     You  were 

speaking  a  while  ago  of  Frank  Leroy.     Don't 


A   LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  71 

forget  that  he  is  the  best  friend  I  have  in  the 
world  except  my  mother.  Good-night!"  She 
held  out  her  hand,  and  again  it  nestled,  white  and 
soft  and  warm,  in  my  great  paw,  and  stayed  there 
a  moment.  The  little  hand  must  have  been 
frightened,  for  it  fluttered  slightly  and  then  flew 
back  to  its  mistress. 

I  said  good-night,  but  it  was  not  a  very  gra 
cious  farewell,  I  am  afraid.  "I  knew  I  had 
something  to  say  to  you,"  she  remarked.  "In 
the  house  there  is  a  young  Federal  officer  who 
was  wounded  some  time  ago.  He  has  been  in  a 
very  bad  way,  but  he  is  better  now.  While  he 
was  at  the  worst  of  his  illness  he  was  constantly 
calling  the  names  of  some  friends  he  has  among 
the  rebels.  One  of  them  he  seems  to  be  specially 
fond  of — he  calls  him  Harry  Herndon.  The 
other  he  calls  Carroll  Shannon.  It  may  be  that 
you  know  them." 

"I  am  acquainted  with  Herndon,"  I  replied. 
"Shannon  I  have  never  met,  and  I  have  no  desire     ^ 
to  meet  him." 

She  was  silent  a  moment,  and  then  went  on: 
"I  thought  that  if  the  two  would  take  the  trouble 
to  call  on  the  wounded  man  it  would  do  him  good 


72  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

— though  I  am  astonished  that  he  should  desire 
to  see  rebels  and  traitors.  I  hate  them  all  with 
out  exception,  and  the  more  I  see  of  them  the 
more  I  hate  them." 

The  little  lady  had  worked  herself  into  a  grand 
fury  against  the  rebels,  and  I  am  sure  she  be 
lieved  what  she  said  for  the  moment.  "I  shall 
take  pleasure  in  informing  Herndon  that  his 
friend  is  here,"  said  I.  "Shannon,  as  I  have  told 
you,  I  never  met." 

"You  are  fortunate,"  she  replied.  "I  met  him 
once,  and  it  needed  only  a  glance  to  tell  me  what 
he  was." 

"And  what  was  he?"  I  inquired. 

"The  matter  is  not  worth  speaking  of,"  she 
said.  "I  have  just  as  much  contempt  for  him 
as  you  have.  Good-night!"  and  once  more  the 
Jittle  fluttering  hand  touched  mine,  and  away  she 
marched  into  the  darkness.  At  the  steps  she 
turned  and  listened,  but,  as  neither  Whistling 
Jim  nor  I  had  stirred  out  of  our  tracks,  she  could 
hear  nothing.  "Why  don't  you  go?"  she  called. 

"I  want  to  see  you  safe  in  the  house,"  I 
said. 

"You  are  taking  a  deal  of  responsibility  on 


A   LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  73 

yourself,"  she  responded.     "You  must  think  me  jj 
a  child  or  a  woman."     With  that  she  slipped 
through  the  door,  which  yielded  to  her  touch,  and 
disappeared  in  the  house. 


VII 

Now,  when  the  foolish  girl  disappeared  behind 
the  door,  I  turned  away  from  the  gate  full  of 
anger  at  all  mundane  things.  But  the  only 
human  being  near  at  hand  was  Whistling  Jim, 
and  him  I  seized  by  the  collar. 

"You  scoundrel!"  I  exclaimed,  shaking  him 
vigorously ;  "what  do  you  mean  by  going  off  and 
leaving  the  stable-door  unlocked?" 

"Mar — Marse  Cal — Cally — lem — lemme  tell 
you  'bout  it!"  he  cried,  affrighted;  and  then, 
ashamed  of  my  silly  display  of  temper,  I  turned 
him  loose.  "What  make  you  so  fractious  ter- 
night,  Marse  Cally?  A  little  mo'  an'  you'd  'a' 
shuck  my  head  off.  I  declar'  ter  gracious,  Marse 
Cally,  I  thought  I  locked  dat  stable-door.  I 
know  I  turned  de  key — dey  ain't  no  two  ways 
'bout  dat.  I  tuck  de  key  out'n  de  lock  when  I 
went  in,  an'  put  it  back  in  de  lock  when  I  come 
out — I  put  it  in  de  lock  an'  turned  it  des  like  I 
allers  do." 

"But  what  you  didn't  do,"  said  I,  now  angry 

74 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  75 

with  myself,  "was  to  make  sure  that  the  bolt  of 
the  lock  had  caught.  It  didn't  catch,  and  when 
I  went  there  to-night  the  door  yielded  to  my 
hand.  It  was  a  piece  of  pure  carelessness,  and 
if  you  ever  do  the  like  again " 

''Don't  talk  dat  way,  Marse  Cally;  you  sho  is 
been  mighty  good  ter  me,  an'  I  don't  want  ter 
make  you  mad.  I  never  is  ter  do  dat  trick 
ag'in." 

Then  I  told  him  that  there  was  a  plot  on  foot 
to  steal  the  horses,  and  advised  him  as  to  the 
identity  of  the  two  men.  He  knew  them  both — 
especially  did  he  know  the  prominent  citizen, 
who,  on  various  occasions,  had  invited  him  into 
the  store  and  made  him  presents  of  pipe  and 
tobacco,  and  had  even  hinted  to  him  that  he  could 
find  a  good  job  for  him  when  he  grew  tired  of 
working  for  nothing.  He  had  also  given  him 
whiskey,  which  was  a  contraband  article  in  the 
recruiting  camp. 

We  walked  along  very  friendly,  for  I  was 
ashamed  of  myself  for  giving  way  to  my  temper. 
When  the  negro  thought  I  was  in  a  sufficiently 
good  humor,  he  endeavored  to  ease  his  own 
curiosity  on  a  matter  that  had  evidently  been 


76  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

worrying  him.     "Marse  Cally,"  he  said,  "who 
wuz  dat  little  chap  we  tuck  home  des  now?" 

"I  don't  know  his  name.     Why  do  you  ask?" 

"Kaze  he  look  so  funny  an'  done  so  funny. 
He  ain't  look  like  no  man  ter  me." 

"Why,  of  course  not;  he  is  little  more  than  a 
boy;  that's  the  reason  I  made  him  come  out  of 
that  house." 

"He  moughter  been  a  boy,"  remarked  Whis 
tling  Jim,  after  taking  some  time  to  think  the 
matter  over.  "He  wuz  right  knock-kneed,  an' 
when  he  walked  he  walked  des  like  de  flo'  wuz 
burnin'  his  foots." 

I  could  only  pretend  to  laugh,  but  I  wondered 
at  the  negro's  keep  observation.  Seeing  that  I 
made  no  reply,  he  went  on:  "You  know  what  I 
think,  Marse  Cally?  Dat  uppity  li'l  chap  is  des 
ez  much  a  man  ez  you  is  a  'oman." 
•  "Well,  it  may  be  so,"  I  replied.  "He  is  noth 
ing  to  me." 

Whistling  Jim  laughed  one  of  his  irritating 
laughs.  "Dat's  so,  suh,  but  I  tuck  notice  dat 
you  belt  ban's  wid  'im  a  mighty  long  time." 

This  was  intolerable,  and  I  remarked  with 
some  severity  that  I  proposed  to  make  it  my  spe- 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  77 

cial  business  to  inform  Harry  Herndon  how  his 
negro  had  neglected  his  duty.  "Now,  don't  do 
dat,  Marse  Cally,  please,  suh!  You  know 
mighty  well  dat  Marse  Harry  can't  keep  his 
temper  like  you  does.  I  dunner  when  you  been 
ez  fractious  ez  you  is  ter-night." 

"You  are  the  cause  of  it,"  I  declared,  "y°u  and 
no  one  else.  First  you  leave  the  stable-door  un 
locked,  and  then  you  say  that  this  young  fellow 
is  neither  man  nor  boy." 

"Did  I  say  dat,  Marse  Cally?"  exclaimed 
Whistling  Jim,  apparently  almost  as  much 
amazed  as  if  I  had  drawn  a  pistol  on  him.  He 
stood  a  moment,  as  if  trying  to  remember  the  cir 
cumstances  under  which  the  remark  had  been 
made,  but  he  shook  his  head  sadly.  "Ef  I  said 
dat,  Marse  Cally,  I  must  'a'  been  dreamin';  I  wuz 
mighty  nigh  fast  asleep  when  we  started  back  des 
now,  an'  ef  you'd  'a'  lissened  right  close  I  speck 
you'd  'a'  hearn  me  a  sno'in'.  Ef  you  say  I  said 
it,  den  I  reckon  I  must  'a'  said  it,  but  I  wan't  at 
myse'f ,  kaze  ef  dey  ever  wuz  a  grown  man  on  top 
er  de  groun',  dat  chap  is  one." 

"You  are  sharper  than  I  thought  you  were,"  I 
remarked. 


78  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"You  must  be  makin'  fun  er  me,  Marse  Cally, 
kaze  dey  ain't  nothin'  sharp  'bout  knowin'  a  man 
fum  a  'oman.  Ef  I  didn't  know  de  diffunce  I'd 
turn  myse'f  out  ter  graze  wid  de  dry  cattle,  an' 
stay  wid  um  all  thoo  de  season." 

"Now,  that's  the  way  to  talk,"  said  I  with  some 
heartiness;  "but  if  I  ever  find  the  stable-door  un 
locked  again  I'll  take  it  for  granted  that  you 
have  changed  your  opinion  about  our  young 
friend." 

"I  may  leave  de  stable-door  onlocked  time  an' 
time  ag'in,"  remarked  Whistling  Jim  solemnly, 
"but  I  never  is  ter  b'lieve  dat  dat  boy  is  anything 
but  a  man." 

I  made  haste  to  inform  Harry  Herndon 
that  Jack  Bledsoe  was  in  the  neighborhood, 
and,  as  was  perfectly  natural,  he  was  keen  to 
see  him,  less  for  Jack's  sake,  I  imagine,  though 
he  loved  the  young  fellow  well,  than  for  the  sake 
of  having  some  news  of  the  fair  Katherine.  As 
the  heaviest  part  of  his  work  at  headquarters  was 
over,  and  as  pretty  much  everything  had  de 
pended  on  the  reply  to  General  Forrest's  requisi 
tion  on  his  superior  officer — who,  unfortunately, 
chanced  to  be  General  Bragg — for  arms  and  am- 


A   LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  79 

munition,  Harry  had  no  difficulty  in  securing 
leave  of  absence  for  the  day;  and  so,  when  all 
the  arrangements  had  been  made,  we  set  out  the 
next  evening  for  the  house  where  Jack  Bledsoe 
lay. 

On  the  way,  I  suggested  that  perhaps  Jack's 
mother  and  the  fair  cousin  would  probably  be 
found  there;  and  this  possibility  was  in  Harry's 
mind  also,  for  he  leaned  from  his  horse  toward 
me  and  extended  his  hand,  uttering  not  a  word. 
I  gripped  it  with  mine,  and  hoped  that  before  I 
died  I  should  have  the  opportunity  of  shaking 
another  hand  as  true.  One  other  I  found — but 
only  one. 

Jack's  mother  met  us  at  the  door,  and  not  far 
behind  her  was  the  fair  Katherine,  more  beauti 
ful  than  ever.  I  saw  at  a  glance  that  the  ladies 
were  expecting  us,  for  they  were  rigged  out  in 
their  best,  which  was  not  very  bad,  considering 
that  they  had  been  caught  between  the  lines  with 
a  wounded  man  on  their  hands.  Another  face 
that  I  had  expected  to  see  was  not  in  evidence, 
and  whatever  enthusiasm  I  may  have  felt  in  the 
beginning  soon  died  away,  and  I  was  sorry  that 
I  had  been  foolish  enough  to  accompany  Harry. 


80  A^LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

We  were  takea  at  once  to  Jack's  room,  and  it 
was  very  evident  that  he  was  glad  to  see  us  again. 
He  had  changed  a  great  deal;  he  looked  older, 
and  appeared  to  be  worn  by  illness.  He  had 
been  removed  from  the  cabin  on  the  river  at  a 
critical  period,  and,  as  a  result,  he  was  compelled 
to  go  through  a  long  and  drastic  illness.  He 
was  on  the  high  road  to  recovery,  but  I  thought 
he  would  never  be  the  same  handsome  Jack 
again,  so  cadaverous  was  his  countenance  and  so 
changed  his  voice.  The  two  ladies  and  myself 
left  the  friends  together  and  went  into  the  room 
that  had  been  the  parlor,  where  there  was  a  brisk 
fire  burning. 

The  house  was  a  very  commodious  country 
home  and  had  evidently  been  built  by  some  pros 
perous  person  whose  heart  and  mind  turned  to 
the  country  after  he  had  acquired  wealth  in  the 
town.  But  the  owner  had  deserted  it  when  the 
Federals  took  possession  of  Murfreesborough, 
leaving  furniture  and  everything  to  the  mercy  of 
circumstance — the  cruel  circumstance  that  goes 
hand  in  hand  with  war.  But  everything  was  in 
tact.  The  old  piano  stood  in  the  corner  as  glossy 
as  if  it  had  been  newly  bought,  and  the  carpets  on 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  81 

the  floor  wore  a  clean  look,  though  some  of  them 
were  threadbare. 

After  a  while,  Harry  came  in  search  of  Kate 
— she  was  more  important  than  his  wounded 
friend — and  Mrs.  Bledsoe  went  to  take  her  place 
by  Jack's  bedside.  This  arrangement  would 
have  left  me  very  much  alone,  but  for  the 
thoughtfulness  of  Kate,  who  intimated  that  I 
should  find  very  interesting  company  in  the  next 
room.  "Don't  be  afraid,"  she  said.  But  I  was 
very  much  afraid,  I  know  not  why,  and  hesitated 
a  long  time  before  I  ventured  into  the  room. 

And  when  I  did  venture  to  wander  in  casually, 
I  was  more  afraid  than  ever,  for  at  a  window  a 
small  lady  sat  reading.  I  knew  her  at  once  for  *V 
Jane  Ryder,  but  that  fact  made  me  no  bolder. 
On  the  contrary,  I  felt  a  timidity  that  was 
almost  childish;  it  was  a  feeling  that  carried 
me  away  back  to  my  boyhood,  when  I  refused  to 
go  into  a  room  where  there  was  a  company  of  lit 
tle  girls. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  I,  and  began  to  back 
toward  the  door. 

"Oh,  no  harm  is  done,"  the  lady  declared,  clos 
ing  the  book,  but  keeping  the  place  with  her  fore- 


82  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

finger.  "Did  you  desire  to  see  me?  Or  perhaps 
you  would  see  Miss  Bledsoe?" 

"No,  ma'am — I — that  is,  Miss  Bledsoe  is  talk 
ing  with  a  friend  of  mine,  and  I  just  wandered 
in  here,  having  nothing  else  to  do." 

"To  be  sure!  I  believe  that  is  a  custom  of 
Southern  gentlemen." 

"What  is?"  I  asked,  rather  abruptly. 

"Why,  to  go  to  houses  and  wander  from  room 
to  room  until  their  curiosity  is  satisfied." 

I  was  angry,  though  I  knew  that  she  meant  not 
a  word  she  said.  "Does  Mrs.  Bledsoe  indulge  in 
that  habit?"  I  asked. 

"Habit?  I  said  custom.  Mrs.  Bledsoe  is  a 
changed  woman  since  she  has  lived  among  people 
who  know  something  of  the  world  and  its  ways, 
and  who  are  not  slave-drivers." 

"I  believe  this  is  Miss  Jane  Ryder,"  I  said. 

"Your  memory  is  better  than  your  manners," 
she  replied,  and  though  I  tried  hard  to  keep  my 
temper,  her  words  stung  me  to  the  quick. 

"I  assure  you  I  had  not  the  least  desire  to  dis 
turb  you.  I  came  in  here  with  the  hope,  though 
not  the  expectation,  of  finding  a  lad  who  came 
here  last  night." 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  83 

"He  is  not  here,"  she  asserted,  "and  if  he  were, 
he  has  no  desire  to  see  you.  He  told  me  some 
thing  of  his  encounter  with  you,  and  if  that  is  the 
way  you  treat  a  young  lad,  I  wonder  how  you 
would  have  treated  an  unprotected  woman." 

I  would  not  trust  myself  to  speak  to  her.  I 
made  her  a  low  obeisance  and  retired  from  the 
room;  but  I  was  not  to  escape  so  easily.  She 
pursued  her  advantage ;  she  followed  me  out  into 
the  hall.  "Is  it  true  that  the  young  man  com 
pelled  you  to  accompany  him  to  this  house  last 
night?" 

"If  he  told  you  so,  madam,  it  is  true,"  I  re 
plied. 

"After  threatening  to  give  you  a  strapping?" 
she  asked.  Her  mood  was  almost  exultant, 
though  she  had  been  gloomy  enough  when  I  first 
disturbed  her. 

"If  he  says  so,  madam." 

"He  didn't  say  so,  but  I  believe  he  slapped 
your  face,  for  it  is  still  red." 

"Perhaps  he  did,  madam." 

"I  am  no  madam,  I'll  let  you  know;  why  do 
you  call  me  so?  " 

"It  is  simply  a  term  of  respect,  ma'am.     Our 


84  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

young  people  are  taught  to  be  respectful  to 
ladies." 

"You  may  be  sure  that  the  young  man  would 
have  remained  to  see  you,  but  I  was  afraid  you'd 
run  away  and  leave  your  friend."  Women  can 
be  very  childish  sometimes,  and  this  was  pure 
childishness. 

"Why,  I  had  no  idea  that  he  bore  me  any  ill- 
will,"  I  remarked.  "He  trotted  along  by  my 
side  in  perfect  good-humor  when  I  was  fetching 
him  home.  If  he  has  any  grudge  against  me,  I 
do  not  think  the  fault  is  mine.  Say  to  him  that 
I  apologize  most  humbly  for  any  offence  I  may 
have  given  him."  Jane  Ryder  was  now  sure 
that  I  did  not  connect  her  with  the  lad — was  sure 
that  I  had  not  pierced  her  disguise,  and  she  be 
came  at  once  very  much  friendlier.  Her  relief 
was  apparent  in  voice  and  gesture. 

"The  truth  is,"  she  went  on,  "the  young  man 
is  very  fond  of  you,  much  to  my  surprise.  It 
is  a  strange  fancy,"  she  mused;  "there  is  no 
accounting  for  it.  I  believe  you  could  prevail  on 
him  to  leave  his  friends  and  go  with  you  to  the 
South ;  that  is  why  I  am  keeping  him  away  from 
you." 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  85 

"I  have  had  few  friends,"  I  said,  "and  if  you 
could  add  the  young  man  to  the  list  and  place  him 
above  all  the  rest,  I  should  be  happy.  But  as  for 
persuading  him  to  desert  his  principles,  I  should 
never  think  of  it;  and  I  should  think  ill  of  him 
if  he  could  be  persuaded." 

"He  really  thinks  that  you  are  one  of  the  finest 
men  he  ever  met,"  pursued  Jane  Ryder.  "He 
says  that  a  young  woman  would  be  as  safe  from 
insult  with  you  as  she  would  be  with  her  mother." 

"And  why  not?"  I  inquired.  "I  thank  your 
friend  for  his  good  opinion  of  me;  but  it  is  no 
great  compliment  to  me  to  say  that  I  should  pro 
tect  a  woman  with  my  life,  if  need  be.  Back 
yonder  there  are  gathered  three  or  four  thousand 
men,  and  out  of  that  four  thousand  you  will  not 
find  ten  who  would  not  do  the  same  and  think  it 
nothing  to  boast  of." 

"I  wouldn't  trust  them,"  she  declared. 

"Would  you  trust  me?"  I  asked.  The  words 
were  out  of  my  mouth  before  I  could  recall  them. 
They  meant  more  than  she  would  think  or  than 
she  would  care  for  them  to  mean. 

"I  certainly  would,"  she  said,  clenching  her 
hands  in  a  strange  little  gesture. 


86  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"I  thank  you  for  saying  that  much,"  I  de 
clared.  "The  time  may  come — not  soon,  per 
haps — when  I  shall  have  to  ask  you  to  trust  me." 

"Soon  or  late,"  she  replied,  "my  answer  will 
be  the  same." 

I  never  was  more  shaken  with  the  excitement 
of  temptation  than  at  that  moment.  She  must 
have  known  it ;  they  say  women  are  quick  at  read 
ing  the  thoughts  of  a  man,  but,  instead  of  draw 
ing  away  from  me,  she  drew  nearer.  In  another 
instant  I  should  have  seized  her  in  my  arms,  the 
pale  and  lonely  creature,  but  just  then  the  sound 
of  footsteps  came  along  the  hall,  and  I  heard  the 
happy  laughter  of  Katherine  Bledsoe.  I  had 
raised  my  arms,  but  now  I  lowered  them  and  she 
had  seized  my  hand. 

"Good-by!"  she  said,  and  as  soon  as  she  could 
tear  her  hand  from  mine  she  was  gone — gone  by 
another  door,  and  Harry  and  her  companion 
came  plump  upon  me  standing  in  the  hallway, 
gazing  at  the  door  through  which  Jane  Ryder 
had  disappeared.  Then  I  turned  and  gazed  at 
them,  first  at  one  and  then  at  the  other. 

"What  have  you  done  with  her?"  inquired 
Kate,  with  just  a  shade  of  solicitude  in  her  voice. 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  87 

"Oh,  I  hope  you  haven't  hurt  her,"  she  cried. 
"She  has  the  tenderest  heart  in  the  world." 

"Hurt  her?  Hurt  her?"  It  was  all  that  I 
could  say,  and  then  all  of  a  sudden  I  came  to 
myself  and  stood  there  laughing  very  foolishly. 
"She  ran  away,"  I  explained.  "I  don't  know 
why.  I  am  sure  I  didn't  want  her  to  go!" 

Whereupon  Kate  fell  to  laughing,  and  kept 
it  up  until  the  tears  came  into  her  eyes.  "Oh, 
men  are  such  simpletons!"  she  exclaimed;  "I 
don't  know  what  I  should  do  for  amusement  if  I 
didn't  see  the  lords  of  creation  once  in  a  great 
while." 

We  bade  good-by  to  the  household — though 
Jane  Ryder  was  nowhere  to  be  found — and  went 
to  our  horses,  which  we  had  left  in  charge  of 
Whistling  Jim.  That  worthy  was  in  quite  a 
flutter.  He  had  heard  strange  noises,  and  he 
was  almost  sure  that  he  had  caught  a  glimpse  of 
more  than  one  man  in  the  darkness.  We  paid 
little  enough  attention  to  what  he  said,  for  we 
knew  that  the  ladies  were  safe  so  far  as  the  Con 
federates  were  concerned,  and  Jack  Bledsoe 
would  answer  for  their  safety  with  the  Federals. 

Nevertheless,  there  was  no  one  to  answer  for 


88  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

our  safety,  and  we  had  no  more  than  mounted 
our  horses  before  we  discovered  that  we  were  sur 
rounded.  We  heard  the  tramp  of  cavalry  on  all 
sides.  A  quiet  voice  in  the  darkness  made  itself 
heard:  "Don't  shoot  unless  they  resist!" 

"Ride  them  down!"  exclaimed  Harry.  My 
horse  ran  full  into  another  horse,  and  he  and  his 
rider  went  down  just  as  I  used  my  pistol.  Some 
one  with  an  oath  whacked  me  over  the  head  with 
a  sabre,  my  horse  stumbled  in  the  darkness,  and 
down  I  went  into  chaos.  I  thought  I  heard 
someone  singing,  and  then  it  seemed  as  if  there 
was  a  free  concert  in  progress,  while  I  lay  help 
less  in  a  great  gully  out  of  which  I  could  not 
climb. 


VIII 

Making  a  great  effort  to  climb  from  the  gully 
into  which  I  had  fallen,  my  foot  slipped,  and  I 
fell  again,  and  continued  to  fall  till  I  knew  no 
more.  When  I  came  to  life  again  I  was  not  in 
a  gully  at  all,  but  stretched  out  on  a  bejd,  with  my 
boots  on,  and  this  fact  fretted  me  to  such  an 
extent  that  I  threw  back  the  covering  and  rose 
to  a  sitting  posture.  My  head  was  throbbing 
somewhat  wildly,  and  I  soon  found  that  the  cause 
of  the  pain  was  a  towel  that  had  been  too  tightly 
bound  around  my  forehead.  The  towel  changed 
into  a  bandage  under  my  fingers,  and  I  found 
that  I  could  not  compass  the  intricacies  of  the 
fastenings.  I  remembered  that  I  had  disposed 
safely  of  the  papers  I  had  found  in  the  chair-arm. 
One  was  a  passport  signed  by  one  of  the  biggest 
men  in  the  country,  authorizing  Francis  Leroy 
to  pass  in  and  out  of  the  Union  lines  at  any  time, 
day  or  night,  and  the  other — there  were  but  two 
— was  some  useless  information  with  respect  to 

89 


90  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

the  movements  of  the  Federal  forces  between 
Murfreesborough  and  Memphis. 

As  I  came  more  and  more  to  my  senses,  I  knew 
that  these  papers  had  been  the  cause  of  my  un 
doing  ;  I  could  see  in  it,  as  plain  as  day,  the  hand 
of  Jane  Ryder,  and  I  was  truly  sorry.  I  thought 
I  had  been  around  the  world  and  back  again,  and 
I  should  have  been  very  wise,  but  the  bandage 
and  Jane  Ryder  were  too  much  for  me.  How 
did  she  know  that  I  had  secured  the  papers? 
And  why  did  she  permit  the  soldiers  to  attack  me. 
I  was  feeling  very  foolish  and  childish. 

Then  I  observed  that  a  large  man  was  sitting 
in  front  of  the  small  fireplace,  and  his  long  legs 
were  stretched  completely  across  the  hearth. 
His  head  was  thrown  back,  his  mouth  was  open, 
and  he  was  sound  asleep.  There  was  half  a 
handful  of  some  kind  of  medicine  in  a  saucer  on 
the  table,  and  I  judged  that  the  man  would  be 
better  off  for  a  dose  of  it.  I  suppose  it  was  com 
mon  table  salt,  but,  whatever  it  was,  the  notion 
remained  with  me  that  it  would  be  a  help  to  the 
man.  It  was  a  fantastic  notion,  but  it  persisted, 
and  finally  I  lifted  the  saucer,  emptied  the  medi 
cine  in  my  palm,  and  transferred  it  to  the  open 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  91 

mouth  of  the  man.  It  failed  to  arouse  him;  he 
merely  closed  his  jaws  on  the  dose  and  slept  on. 

I  enjoyed  the  man's  discomfiture  before  it  oc 
curred;  I  knew  what  a  terrible  splutter  there 
would  be  when  the  stuff  began  to  melt  and  run 
down  his  windpipe.  I  should  have  laughed 
aloud,  but  the  bandage  was  hurting  me  terribly. 
With  a  vague  hope  of  getting  some  relief  from 
pain,  I  opened  the  door  as  softly  as  I  could,  went 
out  and  closed  it  behind  me.  Another  door  was 
open  directly  in  front  of  me,  and  through  this 
I  went.  In  the  room  a  woman  was  sitting  at  a 
window,  her  head  in  her  hands.  She  looked  up 
when  she  heard  the  slight  noise  I  made,  and  I  was 
surprised  to  find  myself  face  to  face  with  Jane 
Ryder.  Her  eyes  were  red  and  swollen  with 
weeping,  and  her  hands  were  all  of  a  tremble. 

"Will  you  please,  ma'am,  take  this  off?"  I  said, 
pointing  to  the  bandage. 

She  placed  her  finger  on  her  lip.  "Sh-sh!"  she 
whispered,  and  then,  whipping  around  me,  closed 
the  door  with  no  more  noise  than  the  wing  of  a 
night-bird  might  make.  "In  there,  and  don't 
move  on  your  life." 

She  pointed  to  a  closet,  but  I  shook  my  head. 


92  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"Not  if  I  can  help  myself,"  I  said.  "I  have 
just  come  out  of  a  deep,  deep  ditch,  and  I  want 
to  hear  the  splutter."  I  was  whispering,  too,  such 
was  the  woman's  influence.  She  looked  at  me 
in  amazement;  she  tried  to  understand  me;  but 
she  must  have  thought  me  out  of  my  head,  for 
her  lips  were  twitching  pitifully  and  her  hands 
trembling.  "It's  the  man  in  the  next  room,"  I 
whispered  with  a  grin.  "I  put  a  handful  of 
medicine  in  his  mouth.  Wait!  you'll  hear  him 
directly." 

"Oh,  I  am  so  sorry  for  you,"  she  cried,  wring 
ing  her  hands.  "I  am  as  sorry  for  you  as  I  am 
for  myself." 

"Then  please  take  this  bandage  off  and  have 
my  horse  brought  round." 

"I  can't!  I  can't!  You're  wounded.  Go  in 
the  closet  there." 

"I'll  go  where  you  go,  and  I'll  stay  where  you 
stay,"  I  said;  and  I  must  have  been  talking  too 
loud,  for  she  placed  her  hand  on  my  lips — and 
what  should  I  do  but  hold  it  there  and  kiss  it,  the 
poor  little  trembling  hand ! 

And  then  there  came  from  the  next  room  the 
famous  splutter  for  which  I  had  been  waiting. 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  93 

The  soldier  made  a  noise  as  if  he  were  drowning. 
He  gasped  and  coughed,  and  tried  to  catch  his 
breath;  he  strangled  and  lost  it,  and,  when  he 
caught  it  again,  made  a  sound  as  if  he  had  a  vio 
lent  case  of  the  whooping-cough.  And  all  this 
time  I  was  laughing  silently,  and  I  came  near 
strangling  myself. 

Jane  Ryder  was  far  from  laughter.  She  was 
as  cool  as  a  cucumber.  With  one  quick  move 
ment,  and  with  surprising  strength,  she  had 
shoved  me  into  the  closet.  Then  she  flung  the 
door  wide  open.  As  she  did  so  the  guard  cried 
out  at  the  top  of  his  voice  that  the  prisoner  had 
escaped.  And  if  ever  a  man  was  berated  it  was 
that  big  soldier  who  had  fallen  asleep  at  the  post 
of  duty.  "You  drunken  wretch!"  she  cried;  "I 
knew  how  it  would  be;  I  knew  it!"  He  tried  to 
make  an  explanation,  but  she  would  not  hear  it. 
"Oh,  I'll  make  you  pay  for  this!  Go — go  and 
find  him,  and  if  you  fail  take  your  cut-throats 
away  from  here  and  never  let  me  see  them  again. 
Report  to  my  brother,  and  tell  him  how  you  car 
ried  out  your  orders.  You  were  to  take  them  all 
without  a  struggle,  but  you  took  only  one,  and 
you  bring  him  here  more  dead  than  alive.  He  is 


94  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

wandering  about  in  the  woods  now,  out  of  his 
head." 

"But  he  shot  one  of  my  men.  Haven't  you 
any  feeling  for  the  man  that'll  be  cold  and  stiff 
by  sun-up?" 

"For  the  man,  yes.  You  should  have  been  the 
one  to  pay  for  your  blundering.  You  failed  to 
carry  out  your  orders,  and  you  had  a  dozen 
against  three,  and  one  of  the  three  a  negro." 

The  man  started  away,  but  his  lagging  foot 
steps  showed  that  he  had  something  on  his  mind, 
and  in  a  few  moments  I  heard  him  coming  back. 

'Tain't  no  use  to  hunt  for  the  man  in  the  dark, 
and  by  sun-up  his  friends'll  be  buzzin'  around 
here  worse'n  a  nest  of  hornets.  We  are  going 
back — going  back,"  he  repeated,  "and  you  may 
report  what  you  please." 

Then  the  man  went  away,  mumbling  and 
mouthing  to  himself.  As  for  me,  I  should  have 
preferred  to  go  with  him.  Pretty  much  every 
thing  is  fair  in  war,  and  Jane  Ryder  was  on  the 
Union  side.  She  knew  of  the  ambuscade  and 
had  not  told  me ;  it  was  her  duty  not  to  tell.  She 
would  have  made  no  sign  if  we  had  been  going 
to  our  deaths.  I  have  never  felt  more  depressed 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  95 

in  my  life  than  I  did  at  that  moment.  Some 
thing  had  slipped  from  under  me,  and  I  had 
nothing  to  stand  on.  I  came  out  of  the  closet 
both  angry  and  sorry.  "I  shall  be  obliged  to 
you  if  you  will  find  my  hat,"  I  said. 

I  tried  hard  to  hide  my  real  feelings,  and  with 
anyone  else  the  effort  would  have  been  success 
ful;  but  she  knew.  She  came  and  stood  by  me 
and  caught  me  by  the  arm.  "Where  would  you 
go?"  There  was  a  baffled  look  in  her  eyes,  and 
her  voice  was  uneasy. 

"Call  your  man,"  I  said;  "I  will  go  with  him; 
it  is  not  his  fault  that  he  cannot  find  me;  it  is 
not  his  fault  that  I  am  hiding  here  in  a  woman's 
closet.  Nor  shall  he  be  punished  for  it." 

"Your  hat  is  not  here,"  she  declared.  "It  must 
be  where  you  fell.  Do  you  know,"  she  cried, 
"that  you  have  killed  a  man?  Do  you  know 
that?"  Her  tone  was  almost  triumphant. 

"Well,  what  of  that?"  I  asked.  "You  set 
them  on  us,  and  the  poor  fellow  took  his  chance 
with  the  rest.  Gladly  would  I  take  his  place." 
My  head  was  hurting  and  I  was  horribly  de 
pressed. 

She  had  turned  away  from  me,  but  now  she 


96  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

flashed  around  with  surprising  quickness.  "You 
are  the  cause  of  it  all — yes,  you!  And,  oh,  if  I 
could  tell  you  how  I  hate  you!  If  I  could  only 
show  you  what  a  contempt  I  have  for  you !"  She 
was  almost  beside  herself  with  anger,  passion — I 
know  not  what.  She  shrank  back  from  me,  drew 
in  a  long  breath,  and  fell  upon  the  floor  as  if  a 
gust  of  wind  had  blown  her  over;  and  then  I  be 
gan  to  have  a  dim  conception  of  the  power  that 
moved  and  breathed  in  the  personality  of  this 
woman.  She  fell,  gave  a  long,  shivering  sigh, 
and,  to  all  appearance,  lay  before  me  dead. 

In  an  instant  I  was  wild  with  remorse  and 
grief.  I  seized  a  chair  and  sent  it  crashing  into 
the  hallway  to  attract  attention.  To  this  noise 
I  added  my  voice,  and  yelled  for  help  with  lungs 
that  had  aroused  the  echoes  on  many  a  hunting- 
field.  There  were  whisperings  below,  and  ap 
parently  a  hurried  consultation,  and  then  a  young 
woman  came  mincing  up  the  stairs.  I  must  have 
presented  a  strange  and  terrifying  spectacle  with 
my  head  bandaged  and  my  wild  manner,  for  the 
woman,  with  a  shriek,  turned  and  ran  down  the 
stairs  again.  I  cried  again  for  someone  to  come 
to  the  aid  of  the  lady,  and  presently  someone 


4       1 


1  was  wild  with  remorse  and  grief 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  97 

called  up  the  stairs  to  know  what  the  trouble  was. 

"Come  and  see,"  I  cried.  "The  lady  has 
fainted,  and  she  may  be  dead." 

I  went  into  the  room  again,  and,  taking  Jane 
Ryder  in  my  arms,  carried  her  into  the  next  room 
and  laid  her  on  the  bed.  There  was  a  pitcher  of 
water  handy,  and  I  sprinkled  her  face  and  began 
to  chafe  her  cold  hands.  After  what  seemed  an 
age,  the  landlord  came  cautiously  along  the  hall. 
"Call  the  woman,"  I  commanded;  "call  the 
woman,  and  tell  her  to  come  in  a  hurry." 

This  he  did,  and  then  peeped  in  the  room,  tak 
ing  care  not  to  come  inside  the  door.  "What  is 
the  matter?"  he  said  uneasily. 

"Can't  you  see  that  the  lady  is  ill?"  I  answered. 

The  woman — two  women,  indeed — came  run 
ning  in  response  to  his  summons.  "Go  in  there 
and  see  what  the  trouble  is.  See  if  he  has  killed 
her.  I  told  her  he  was  dangerous.  You  shall 
pay  for  this,"  he  said,  shaking  a  threatening  hand 
at  me,  though  he  came  no  farther  than  the  door. 
"You  think  she  has  no  friends  and  that  you  may 
use  her  as  you  please.  But  I  tell  you  she  has 
friends,  and  you  will  have  to  answer  to  them." 

"Why  talk  like  a  fool?"  said  the  elder  of  the 


98  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

two  women — the  woman  with  whom  I  had  talked 
in  the  inner  room  of  the  tavern.  "You  know  as 
well  as  I  do  that  this  man  has  not  hurt  her.  If 
it  were  some  other  man  I'd  believe  you.  She 
has  only  fainted." 

"But  fainting  is  something  new  to  her.  He 
has  hurt  her,  and  he  shall  pay  for  it,"  the  man 
insisted. 

"And  I  tell  you,"  the  woman  repeated,  "that 
he  has  not  harmed  a  hair  of  her  head.  If  he  had 
do  you  think  I'd  be  standing  here  denying  it? 
Don't  you  know  what  I'd  be  doing?" 

"If  I  am  wrong  I  am  quite  ready  to  apologize. 
I  was  excited — was  beside  myself." 

"I  want  none  of  your  apologies,"  I  said  to  the 
man.  "I  have  a  crow  to  pick  with  you,  and  I'll 
furnish  a  basket  to  hold  the  feathers." 

"It  is  better  to  bear  no  malice,"  remarked  the 
younger  woman,  calmly.  "The  Bible  will  tell 
you  so." 

"It  is  better  to  tell  me  the  cause  of  the  trouble," 
interrupted  her  elder. 

"Why,  I  hardly  know.  I  asked  for  my  hat, 
and  from  one  word  to  another  we  went  till  she 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  99 

flamed  out  at  me,  and  said  she  hated  me,  and  had 
a  great  contempt  for  me;  and  then  she  fell  on 
the  floor  in  a  faint.  I  thought  she  was  dead,  but 
when  I  laid  her  on  the  bed  there  I  saw  her  eyelids 
twitching. 

The  two  women  eyed  each  other  in  a  way  that 
displeased  me  greatly.  "I  told  you  so,"  said  one. 
"It's  the  world's  wonder,"  replied  the  other. 
And  then  Jane  Ryder  opened  her  eyes.  It  was 
natural  that  they  should  fall  on  me.  She  closed 
them  again  with  a  little  shiver  and  then  the 
natural  color  returned  to  her  face.  "I  thought 
you  were  gone,"  she  whispered. 

"Did  you  think  I  would  go  and  leave  you  like 
this?  Do  you  really  think  I  am  a  brute — that  I 
have  no  feeling?"  She  closed  her  eyes  again,  as 
if  reflecting. 

"But  I  told  you  I  hated  you.  Didn't  you  hear 
me?  Couldn't  you  understand?" 

"Perfectly,"  I  replied.  "I  knew  it  before  you 
told  me ;  but,  even  so,  could  I  go  and  leave  you  as 
you  were  just  now?  Consider,  madam.  Put 
yourself  in  my  place — I  who  have  never  done  you 
the  slightest  injury  under  the  blue  sky — "  I 


100  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

was  going  on  at  I  know  not  what  rate,  but  she 
refused  to  listen. 

"Oh,  don't!  don't!  Oh,  please  go  away!"  she 
cried,  holding  her  arms  out  toward  me  in  suppli 
cating  fashion.  It  was  an  appeal  not  to  be  re 
sisted,  least  of  all  by  me.  I  looked  at  her — I 
gave  her  one  glance,  as  the  elderly  woman  took 
me  by  the  arm. 

"Come  with  me,"  she  said;  "y°u  shall  have  a 
hat,  though  I  hardly  think  it  will  fit  you  with  the 
bandage  round  your  head." 

She  led  me  downstairs,  and,  after  some  search 
ing,  she  fished  out  a  hat  from  an  old  closet,  and 
it  did  as  well  as  another.  She  asked  me  many 
questions  as  she  searched.  How  long  had  I 
known  the  poor  lady  upstairs?  and  where  did  I 
meet  her?  She  would  have  made  a  famous  cross- 
questioner.  I  answered  her  with  such  frankness 
that  she  seemed  to  take  a  fancy  to  me. 

"Some  say  that  the  poor  lady  upstairs  is  de 
mented,"  she  volunteered. 

"Whoever  says  so  lies,"  I  replied.  "She  has 
more  sense  than  nine-tenths  of  the  people  you 
meet." 

"And  then,  again,  some  say  she  can  mesmerize 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT? 

folks."  Then,  seeing  that  the  information  failed 
to  interest  me,  "What  do  you  think  of  them — 
the  mesmerizers?" 

"I  think  nothing  of  them.  If  they  could  mes 
merize  me,  I  should  like  to  see  them  do  it." 

"Oh,  would  you,  you  poor  young  man,"  she 
said,  with  a  strange  smile.  "How  would  you 
know  that  you  were  mesmerized,  and  how  would 
you  help  yourself?" 

I  know  not  what  reply  I  made.  A  fit  of  dejec 
tion  had  seized  me,  and  I  could  think  of  nothing 
but  Jane  Ryder.  "You  mustn't  think  of  that 
young  lady  upstairs  as  hating  you,"  said  the 
woman,  after  she  had  brushed  the  hat  and  had 
asked  me  if  I  felt  strong  enough  to  walk  a  mile 
or  more.  "All  she  means  is  that  she  hates  your 
principles.  She  hates  secession,  and  she  hates 
Secessionists.  But  something  has  upset  her  of 
late;  she  is  not  herself  at  all.  I'm  telling  you 
the  truth." 

"She  hates  me;  you  may  depend  on  that;  but 
her  hate  makes  no  difference  to  me.  I  love  her, 
and  I'd  love  her  if  she  were  to  cut  my  throat." 

"Is  that  true?    Are  you  Eonest?    May  I  tell 


102  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

her  so  some  time — not  now — but  some  time  when 
you  are  far  away?" 

"To  what  end?"  I  asked.  "She  would  tear  her 
hair  out  if  she  knew  it ;  she  would  never  be  happy 
again." 

"You  don't  happen  to  love  her  well  enough  to 
join  her  side,  do  you?"  This  question  was  put 
hesitatingly,  and,  as  I  thought,  with  some  shy 
hope  that  it  would  receive  consideration. 

"Madam,  you  have  tried  to  be  kind  to  me  in 
your  way,  and  therefore  I  will  say  nothing  to 
wound  your  feelings;  but  if  a  man  were  to  ask 
me  that  question  he  would  receive  an  answer  that 
would  prevent  him  from  repeating  it  in  this 
world." 

"Humpty-dumpty  jumped  over  the  wall!"  ex 
claimed  the  woman  with  a  laugh.  "I  knew  what 
you'd  say,  but  I  had  my  reasons  for  asking  the 
question;  you  must  go  now;  and  bear  in  mind," 
she  went  on  with  a  sudden  display  of  feeling, 
"that  the  war  has  made  such  devil's  hags  of  the 
women,  and  such  devil's  imps  of  the  men,  that 
everything  is  in  a  tangle.  You'll  know  where 
you  are  when  you  go  in  the  next  room.  And  you 
must  forgive  me.  I  am  Jane  Ryder's  mother." 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  103 

And,  sure  enough,  I  was  in  the  tavern  in  the 
woods,  and  sitting  by  the  hearth  was  Whistling 
Jim.  To  say  that  he  was  glad  to  see  me  would 
hardly  describe  the  outward  manifestation  of  his 
feelings.  Someone  in  the  camp,  he  didn't  know 
who,  had  sent  him  word  that  he'd  find  me  at  this 
house,  and  he  had  been  waiting  for  more  than  an 
hour,  the  last  half  of  it  with  many  misgivings. 
He  and  Harry  had  escaped  without  any  trouble, 
and  my  horse  had  followed  them  so  closely  that 
they  thought  I  was  on  his  back.  But  when  they 
saw  that  he  was  riderless,  they  thought  that  I 
had  either  been  captured  or  killed.  Once  at 
camp,  Harry  Herndon  drummed  up  as  many  of 
the  Independents  as  would  volunteer,  and  they 
had  gone  in  search  of  me;  Whistling  Jim  heard 
them  riding  along  the  road  as  he  was  coming  to 
the  tavern. 

The  faithful  negro  had  a  hundred  questions 
to  ask,  but  I  answered  him  in  my  own  way.  I 
was  determined  that  none  but  those  directly  con 
cerned  should  ever  know  that  I  had  been  held  a 
prisoner  or  that  Miss  Ryder  had  a  hand  in  the 
night's  work;  and  I  wished  a  thousand  times  over 
that  I  had  not  known  it  myself.  The  old  say- 


104  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

ing,  worn  to  a  frazzle  with  repetition,  came  to  me 
with  new  force,  and  I  was  sadly  alive  to  the  fact 
that  where  ignorance  is  bliss  'tis  folly  to  be  wise. 

The  night  was  now  far  advanced,  and  once  at 
my  quarters  I  flung  myself  on  the  rude  bed  that 
had  been  provided  for  me,  and  all  the  troubles 
and  tangles  in  this  world  dissolved  and  disap 
peared  in  dreamless  slumber.  When  morning 
broke  I  felt  better.  My  head  was  sore,  but  the 
surgeon  removed  the  bandage,  clipped  the  hair 
about  the  wound,  took  a  stitch  or  two  that  hurt 
worse  than  the  original  blow,  and  in  an  hour  I 
had  forgotten  the  sabre -cut. 

Singular  uneasiness  pervaded  my  thoughts. 
More  than  once  I  caught  myself  standing  still 
as  if  expecting  to  hear  something.  I  tried  in 
vain  to  shake  off  the  feeling,  and  at  last  I  pre 
tended  to  trace  it  to  feverishness  resulting  from 
the  wound  in  the  scalp;  but  I  knew  this  was  not 
so — I  knew  that  one  of  the  great  things  of  life 
was  behind  it  all ;  I  knew  that  I  had  come  to  the 
hour  that  young  men  hope  for  and  older  men 
dread;  I  knew  that  for  good  or  evil  my  future 
was  wrapped  in  the  mystery  and  tangle  of  which 
Jane  Ryder  was  the  centre.  My  common-sense 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  105 

tried  to  picture  her  forth  as  the  spider  waiting  in 
the  centre  of  her  web  for  victims,  but  my  heart 
resented  this  and  told  me  that  she  herself  had 
been  caught  in  the  web  and  found  it  impossible 
to  get  away. 

I  wandered  about  the  camp  and  through  the 
town  with  a  convalescent's  certificate  in  my 
pocket  and  the  desperation  of  a  lover  in  my 
heart;  and  at  the  very  last,  when  night  was 
falling,  it  was  Jasper  Goodrum,  of  the  Inde 
pendents,  who  gave  me  the  news  I  had  been  look 
ing  for  all  day. 

"You'd  better  pick  up  and  go  with  us,  Shan 
non;  our  company  is  going  to  raid  the  tavern 
to-night,  and  to-morrow  we  take  the  road.  Oh, 
you  are  not  hurt  bad,"  he  said,  trying  to  interpret 
the  expression  on  my  face;  "you  can  go,  and  I 
think  I  can  promise  you  a  little  fun.  They  say 
a  spy  is  housed  there,  and  we  propose  to  smoke 
him  out  to-night.  Get  your  horse;  we  start  in 
half  an  hour." 

He  went  off  down  the  street,  leaving  me  star 
ing  at  him  open-mouthed.  When  he  was  out  of 
sight  I  turned  and  ran  toward  the  camp  as  if  my 
life  depended  on  it. 


IX 

I  knew  no  more  what  I  intended  to  do  than  the 
babe  unborn.  What  I  did  know  was  that  Jane 
Ryder  was  in  that  house,  in  all  probability;  and 
that  fact  stung  me.  She  had  aided  me  to  escape, 
even  though  she  had  had  a  hand  in  my  capture, 
and  I  felt  that  the  least  I  could  do  would  be  to 
take  her  away  from  there,  willingly  if  she  could 
come,  forcibly  if  she  hesitated. 

On  the  way  to  the  camp  I  met  Whistling  Jim, 
and  he  stopped  me.  He  was  astride  his  horse 
and  leading  mine.  "Dey  er  gwine  on  a  ride  now 
terreckly,  Marse  Cally,  an'  I  lowed  maybe  you'd 
want  ter  go  'long  wid  um." 

For  answer  I  swung  myself  on  my  horse  and, 
bidding  the  negro  to  follow  if  he  desired,  put 
spurs  to  the  sorrel  and  went  flying  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  tavern.  I  did  not  turn  my  head  to 
see  whether  Whistling  Jim  was  following,  but 
rode  straight  ahead.  It  strikes  me  as  curious, 

106 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  10? 

even  yet,  that  the  darkness  should  have  fallen  so 
suddenly  on  that  particular  day.  When  Good- 
rum  spoke  to  me  I  supposed  that  the  sun  was  still 
shining;  when  I  turned  into  the  road  that  led  to 
the  house  it  was  dark.  I  reached  the  place  in 
the  course  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  as  I  leaped 
from  my  horse  I  heard  the  negro  coming  close 
behind  me.  I  waited  for  him  to  come  up  and 
dismount,  and  then  I  bade  him  knock  at  the  door, 
and  when  it  was  opened  I  told  him  to  stand  by 
the  horses. 

The  door  was  opened  by  the  woman  who  had 
spoken  so  kindly  with  me.  "You  here  again?" 
she  cried  with  an  air  of  surprise.  "You  would 
make  it  very  hard  for  her  if  she  were  here,  but  I 
think  she  is  gone.  You'll  not  see  her  again,  my 
dear,  and  I,  for  one,  am  glad  of  it.  There's  no 
one  here  but  myself  and  my  son." 

"Your  son  is  the  one  I  want,"  I  replied. 
"Tell  him  to  come  at  once.  I  have  news  for 
him."  The  woman  had  no  need  to  call  him,  how 
ever,  for  the  inner  door  opened  as  I  spoke,  and 
out  came  Jane  Ryder  in  the  garb  of  a  man — 
cloak,  boots,  and  all. 

I  had  an  idea  that  she  would  shrink  from  me 


108  A   LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

or  show  some  perturbation ;  but  I  was  never  more 
mistaken  in  my  life.  In  a  perfectly  easy  and 
natural  manner — the  manner  of  a  young  man — 
she  came  up  and  held  out  her  hand.  "I  think 
this  is  Mr.  Shannon;  Miss  Ryder  told  me  your 
name.  I  have  to  thank  you  for  some  recent 
kindness  to  her." 

I  shook  her  hand  very  cordially,  saying  that 
nothing  I  could  do  for  Miss  Ryder  would  be 
amiss.  "As  it  happens,"  I  went  on,  "I  can  do 
something  for  you  now.  Will  you  come  with 
me?" 

For  one  fleeting  moment  her  woman's  hesita 
tion  held  her,  and  then  her  woman's  curiosity  pre 
vailed.  "With  pleasure,"  she  said. 

As  we  started  for  the  door  the  woman  inter 
fered.  "I  wouldn't  go  with  him,"  she  declared 
with  some  bluntness.  "You  don't  have  to  go  and 
you  sha'n't.  You  don't  know  what  he's  up  to." 

This  failed  to  have  the  effect  I  feared  it  would. 
"Don't  you  suppose  I  can  take  care  of  myself, 
mother?" 

"I  know  what  I  know,"  replied  the  woman,  sul 
lenly,  "and  it  wouldn't  take  much  to  make  me 
tell  it." 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  109 

"Then,  for  heaven's  sake,  say  what  you  have 
to  say  and  be  done  with  it,"  I  exclaimed.  "Only 
a  very  few  minutes  lie  between  this  person  and 
safety.  If  you  have  anything  to  tell  out  with  it." 

"Your  blue  eyes  and  baby  face  fooled  me  once, 
but  they'll  not  fool  me  again.  You  know  more 
than  you  pretend  to  know,"  said  the  woman. 

"I  know  this:  if  this  person  remains  here  ten 
minutes  longer  he  will  regret  it  all  the  days  of 
his  life.  Now,  trust  me  or  not,  just  as  you 
please.  If  he  is  afraid  to  come  with  me  let  him 
say  so,  and  I  will  bid  him  farewell  forever  and 
all  who  are  connected  with  him.  Do  you  trust 
me?"  I  turned  to  Jane  Ryder  and  held  out  my 
hand. 

"I  do,"  she  replied.  She  came  nearer,  but  did 
not  take  my  hand. 

"Then,  in  God's  name,  come  with  me!"  I  cried. 
She  obeyed  my  gesture  and  started  for  the  door. 

"Where  are  you  going?"  wailed  the  mother. 
"Tell  me— tell  me!" 

I  was  sorry  for  her,  but  I  made  her  no  answer. 

I  anticipated  this  scene  as  little  as  I  did  the 
fact  that  Jane  Ryder  would  come  with  me.  I 
was  prepared  to  carry  her  off  if  she  refused,  but 


110  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

I  was  ill  prepared  for  the  rumpus  that  this  quiet- 
looking  woman  kicked  up.  She  followed  us  to 
the  door  and  stood  wailing  while  I  tried  to  per 
suade  Jane  Ryder  to  mount  my  horse.  She  hesi 
tated,  but  I  fairly  lifted  her  into  the  saddle. 
The  stirrup-straps  were  too  short,  but  that  made 
no  difference.  I  sprang  on  the  horse  behind 
her,  and,  reaching  forward,  seized  the  reins  and 
turned  the  horse's  head  in  a  direction  that  would 
bring  us  into  the  town  by  a  detour,  so  that  we 
should  miss  the  Independents,  who  would  follow 
the  road  that  I  had  followed  in  coming. 

"Where  are  you  taking  me?"  inquired  Jane 
Ryder. 

"To  safety,"  I  replied.  "The  house  is  to  be 
raided  to-night,  and  I  decided  to  bring  you  away. 
You  saved  me  from  a  prison,  and  now  I  propose 
to  save  you." 

"I  saved  you?  You  are  mistaken;  it  was  that 
foolish  woman,  Miss  Ryder." 

"Well,  she  said  that  you  are  her  dearest  friend, 
and  I'm  saving  you  to  please  her." 

"You  needn't  hold  me  so  tight.  I'm  in  no 
danger  of  falling  off.  Where  are  you  taking 
me?" 


"If  hate  could  kill  you,  you  vv  ould  fall  dead  from  this 
horse" 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  111 

"To  General  Forrest."  She  caught  her  breath, 
and  then  did  her  utmost  to  fling  herself  from  the 
horse.  When  she  found  that  her  strength  was 
not  equal  to  the  task  of  removing  my  arms  or 
lifting  them  so  she  could  slip  from  the  saddle, 
she  began  to  use  her  tongue,  which  has  ever  been 
woman's  safest  weapon. 

"You  traitor!"  she  cried;  "oh,  you  traitor!  I 
wish  I  had  died  before  I  ever  saw  you." 

"But  this  is  the  safest  course,"  I  insisted. 
"You  will  see,  and  then  you  will  thank  me  for 
bringing  you  away." 

"And  I  thought  you  were  a  gentleman;  I  took 
you  for  an  honest  man.  Oh,  if  hate  could  kill 
you  you  would  fall  dead  from  this  horse.  What 
have  I  done  that  I  should  come  in  contact  with 
such  a  villain?" 

"You  have  a  pistol,"  I  said— I  had  felt  it 
against  my  arm — "and  it  is  easy  for  you  to  use  it. 
If  you  think  so  meanly  of  me  why  not  rid  the 
earth  of  such  a  villain?" 

"Do  you  know  who  I  am?"  she  asked  with  a 
gasp  of  apprehension. 

"Why,  certainly,"  I  answered.  "Do  you  think 
I'd  be  taking  the  trouble  to  save  you  else?" 


112  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"Trouble  to  save  me?  Save  me?  Why,  I 
hope  your  savage  General  will  hang  me  as  high 
as  Haman." 

"He  would  if  he  were  a  savage,"  I  said,  "and 
he  would  if  you  were  a  man.  And  he  may  put 
you  in  prison  as  it  is;  you  would  certainly  go 
there  if  captured  by  the  Forty  Thieves.  I  am 
taking  one  chance  in  a  thousand.  But  better  for 
you  to  be  in  prison,  where  you  will  be  safe,  than 
for  you  to  be  going  around  here  masquerading 
as  a  man  and  subjecting  yourself  to  the  insults 
of  all  sorts  of  men." 

"You  are  the  only  man  that  has  ever  insulted 
me.  Do  you  hear?  You — gentleman!"  she 
hissed.  "Can't  you  see  that  I  despise  you? 
Won't  you  believe  it?  Does  it  make  no  differ 
ence?" 

"Not  the  least  in  the  world,"  I  replied.  "Now, 
you  must  compose  yourself;  you  can  be  brave 
enough  when  you  will — I  think  you  are  the 
bravest  woman  I  ever  saw " 

"I  wish  I  could  say  you  are  a  brave  man;  but 
you  are  an  arrant  coward:  you,  the  soldier  that 
plans  to  capture  women." 

"You  must  compose  yourself,"   I   repeated. 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  113 

"In  a  few  minutes  we  shall  be  in  the  presence 
of  General  Forrest,  and  I  should  like  to  see  you 
as  calm  as  possible.  I  don't  know,  but  I  think 
you  will  be  safe.  It  was  our  only  chance."  The 
nearer  we  drew  to  headquarters  the  more  my 
anxiety  rose;  yes,  and  my  sympathy.  "By  the 
living  Lord,"  I  cried,  "you  shall  be  safe!" 

"Noble  gentleman!  to  entrap  a  woman  and 
then  declare  she  shall  not  be  entrapped !  To  gain 
whatever  honor  there  may  be  in  a  woman's  cap 
ture  by  running  ahead  of  his  ruffians  and  captur 
ing  her  himself!  This  is  Southern  manliness — 
this  is  Southern  chivalry!  I  am  glad  I  know  it 
for  what  it  really  is.  Do  you  know,"  she  went 
on,  "that  I  really  thought — that — I — I —  You 
are  the  first  man  I  was  ever  deceived  in — I — " 

"Come  now,"  said  I,  not  unmoved,  for  my 
feelings  ran  far  ahead  of  hers  and  I  knew  what 
she  would  say  and  how  hurt  she  was;  "come  now, 
you  must  be  calm.  Everything  depends  on  that 
— everything." 

Near  General  Forrest's  headquarters  I  dis 
mounted  and  walked  by  the  side  of  my  horse. 
Then  when  Whistling  Jim  came  up,  and  I  would 
have  helped  her  from  the  saddle,  "Don't  touch 


114  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

me!"  she  exclaimed.  She  jumped  from  the  sad 
dle  to  the  ground  and  stood  before  me,  and  for 
the  first  time  I  was  ashamed  and  afraid.  "This 
way,"  I  said.  Then  to  the  guard  at  the  door, 
"Private  Shannon,  of  Captain  Forrest's  com 
pany,  to  see  the  General." 

"He's  right  in  there,"  said  the  guard  with 
good-natured  informality.  I  rapped  at  the 
inner  door,  and  heard  the  well-known  voice  of 
General  Forrest  bidding  me  to  enter. 

I  saluted,  and  he  made  some  motion  with  his 
hand,  but  his  eye  wandered  over  me  and  rested 
on  my  companion.  Then,  after  a  moment,  they 
returned  to  me.  "What's  the  matter,  Shan 
non?" 

"I  have  brought  to  you  here  one  who  came  to 
my  rescue  last  night  when  I  had  been  captured 
by  a  scouting  party.  We  had  gone  to  see  the 
young  fellow  who,  you  will  remember,  was 
wounded  in  our  last  affair  at  the  river — you  saw 
him  in  the  cabin.  He  was  carried  away  the  next 
day  by  his  friends,  but  grew  so  ill  that  he  could 
be  taken  no  farther  than  the  house  on  the  turn 
pike  two  miles  from  town." 

"You  didn't  let  'em  git  you  just  dry  so,  did 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  115 

you?"  he  asked.  And  then  I  gave  him  the  de 
tails  of  the  affair  from  beginning  to  end.  "I 
thought  Herndon  was  mighty  keen  to  go,"  he 
remarked  with  a  laugh.  "You  say  this  young 
fellow  fixed  it  so  you  could  git  away?  And  then 
you  went  back  and  captured  him?  That  don't 
look  fair,  does  it?"  He  regarded  me  with  seri 
ous  countenance. 

"It  is  a  lady,  General,  and  I  did  not  want  her 
to  fall  in  rough  hands."  He  uttered  an  exclama 
tion  of  impatience  and  surprise,  and  made  an 
indignant  gesture.  "Now,  look  here,  Shannon, 
that  is  a  matter  that  I  won't  tolerate.  I've  a 
great  mind  to — "  He  paused,  hearing  the  voice 
of  his  wife,  who  was  visiting  him.  "Go  back  in 
there  and  tell  Mrs.  Forrest  to  come  in  here  a 
minute,  and  do  you  stay  out  till  I  call  you.  I'm 
going  to  look  into  this  business,  and  if  it  ain't 
perfectly  square  all  the  way  through  you'll  pay 
for  it." 

I  hunted  for  Mrs.  Forrest,  hat  in  hand,  and 
soon  found  her.  I  must  have  had  a  queer  ex 
pression  on  my  face,  for  she  observed  it.  "You 
must  be  frightened,"  she  said. 

"I  am,  madam,  for  another  as  well  as  myself," 


116  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

and  then  I  told  her,  as  we  walked  along  very 
slowly,  just  how  the  matter  lay.  She  regarded 
me  very  seriously  for  a  moment,  and  then  smiled. 
She  was  a  handsome  lady,  and  this  smile  of  hers, 
full  of  promise  as  it  was,  made  her  face  the  most 
beautiful  I  have  ever  seen  before  or  since.  It  is 
a  large  saying,  but  it  is  true. 

I  remember  that  I  remained  in  the  corridor 
cooling  my  heels  a  weary  time,  but  finally  Mrs. 
Forrest  came  out.  "You  may  go  in  now,"  she 
said.  "It  is  all  right;  I'm  glad  I  was  called;  I 
think  I  have  made  the  General  understand  every 
thing  as  I  do.  There  are  some  things  that  men 
do  not  understand  as  well  as  women,  and  it  is  just 
as  well  that  they  do  not.  I  am  sure  you  will  be 
very  kind  to  that  little  woman  in  there." 

I  tried  to  thank  her,  but  there  is  a  gratitude 
that  cannot  be  expressed  in  words,  and  I  could 
but  stand  before  her  mumbling  with  my  head 
bent.  "I  know  what  you  would  say,"  she  re 
marked,  graciously.  "The  General  and  I  have 
perfect  confidence  in  you." 

I  went  into  the  room  where  General  Forrest 
and  Jane  Ryder  were.  "Shannon,  what  are  you 
and  Herndon  up  to?  What  do  you  mean  by 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  117 

going  on  in  this  way?"  He  spoke  with  some 
severity,  but  there  was  a  humorous  twinkle  in  his 
blue-gray  eyes.  "More  than  that,  you  took  oc 
casion  to  prejudice  the  jury.  What  did  you 
say  to  Mrs.  Forrest?" 

"I  simply  asked  her  to  be  kind  to  the  lady  in 
here." 

"Well,  she  was  all  of  that,"  said  the  General, 
"and  she  threatened  me  with  her  displeasure  if  I 
wasn't  kind  to  you,  and  as  she's  the  only  human 
being  that  I'm  really  af eared  of,  I  reckon  I'll 
have  to  let  you  off  this  time.  Oh,  you  needn't 
look  so  smiling ;  you  are  to  be  punished,  and  that 
heavily.  You  are  to  be  responsible  for  this 
young  woman.  You  are  to  take  charge  of  her 
and  restore  her  to  her  own  people — mind  you,  to 
her  own  people.  You  are  responsible  to  me,  and 
I  reckon  you  know  what  that  means ;  if  you  don't 
you  can  just  ask  somebody  that  knows  me." 

I  knew  what  it  meant  well  enough,  and  I  knew 
what  his  words  meant.  "The  lady  is  as  safe 
with  me,  General,  as  if  she  were  in  her  mother's 


arms." 


"Now,  that's  the  way  to  talk,  and  I  believe 
you,"  said  General  Forrest. 


118  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

All  this  time  Jane  Ryder  had  said  not  a  word. 
She  sat  very  quietly,  but  there  was  not  a  sign 
of  gloom  or  dejection  in  her  face.  But  uneasi 
ness  looked  from  her  eyes.  She  spoke  presently, 
while  General  Forrest  was  looking  through  a 
large  morocco  memorandum-book  that  was  a 
little  the  worse  for  wear.  "If  you  please,"  she 
said,  "I  should  like  to  go  back  to  my  friends  to 
night,  if  they  are  not  all  killed.  They  can  do 
you  no  harm  even  if  they  are  alive.  They  are 
only  a  couple  of  women." 

"Well,  they  are  not  killed,"  replied  General 
Forrest  without  looking  up.  "Wimmen  make 
war  on  me  and  do  a  lot  of  damage,  but  I  don't 
make  war  on  them.  I'm  letting  you  off  on  a 
technicality,  Miss  Ryder.  You  are  not  a  spy; 
you  have  never  been  inside  my  lines  until  to 
night;  and  yet  you  were  in  a  fair  way  to  find  out 
a  good  many  things  that  the  other  side  would  like 
to  know." 

"I  never  found  out  as  much  as  I'd  like  to 
know,"  she  replied;  "and  since  he  came  bothering 
me  I  haven't  found  out  anything." 

Apparently  General  Forrest  ignored  the  re 
mark.  He  turned  to  me  with  a  slip  of  paper  in 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  119 

his  hand.     "You'll  have  to  change  your  name, 
Shannon.     This  passport  is  made  out  to  someone 

else.     Read  it." 

> 

He  handed  it  to  me,  and  I  read  aloud:  "The 
bearer  of  this,  Captain  Francis  Leroy,  is  author 
ized  to  pass  in  and  out  the  Federal  lines,  night 
or  day,  without  let  or  hindrance."  It  was  signed 
by  a  great  man  at  Washington  and  counter 
signed  by  one  almost  as  great. 

"Why,  that  belongs  to  me,"  said  Jane  Ryder; 
"where  did  you  find  it?" 

"I  reckon  it's  just  a  duplicate,"  said  the  Gen 
eral,  smiling.  "I've  had  it  some  time." 

A  little  frown  of  perplexity  appeared  above 
Jane  Ryder's  eyes,  and  if  it  had  never  gone  away 
until  she  solved  the  mystery  of  this  passport  it 
would  have  been  there  yet,  for  neither  one  of  us 
ever  knew  where  General  Forrest  obtained  the 
precious  document. 

"You  will  want  to  go  out  of  my  lines,  Shan 
non,  and  you'll  want  to  come  back,  so  I'll  fix  it 
up  for  you."  He  went  into  the  next  room  and 
dictated  to  an  orderly,  and  presently  brought  me 
a  paper  signed  with  his  own  name,  and  I  have  it 
yet. 


120  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

Everything  was  ready  for  us  to  take  our 
leave,  and  we  did  so.  "You  are  a  different  man 
from  what  I  thought  you,"  said  Jane  Ryder  to 
General  Forrest,  "and  I  have  to  thank  you  for 
your  kindness  and  consideration." 

"It  ain't  what  people  think  of  you — it's  what 
you  are  that  counts,"  replied  General  Forrest.  I 
have  thought  of  this  homely  saying  hundreds  of 
times,  and  it  rings  truer  every  time  I  repeat  it  to 
myself.  It  covers  the  whole  ground  of  con 
science  and  morals. 

As  I  was  going  out,  Jane  Ryder  being  in  ad 
vance,  the  General  said  to  me  again,  "Don't 
make  no  mistake  about  what  I  mean.  You  are 
responsible  to  me  for  the  safety  of  that  young 
lady.  I  believe  in  you,  but  I  may  be  wrong.  If 
I  am  wrong  you'd  just  as  well  go  out  and  hang 
yourself  and  save  me  the  trouble." 

"You  needn't  worry  about  me,  General.  I 
can  take  care  of  myself,"  declared  Jane  Ryder. 
We  went  out  of  the  house  and  came  to  where 
Whistling  Jim  was  holding  the  horses.  I  dis 
missed  him  then  and  there,  and  told  him  to  put 
his  horse  in  the  stable  and  have  plenty  of  feed 
for  mine.  But  Jane  Ryder,  for  reasons  of  her 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  121 

own,  preferred  to  walk,  so  that  Whistling  Jim 
went  away  with  the  two  horses  and  we  were  left 
to  ourselves. 

I  remember  that  I  said  very  little  during  that 
long  walk,  and  all  the  burden  of  the  conversation 
fell  on  the  young  woman.  She  was  not  at  all 
elated  over  the  narrow  escape  she  had  had,  and 
preferred  to  make  light  of  it,  but  I  knew  that, 
under  different  circumstances,  she  would  have 
been  put  in  prison  in  Richmond,  and  I  think  that 
her  nature  would  have  succumbed  to  close  con 
finement. 

"You  have  had  your  way,  after  all,  but  I  am 
not  sure  that  I  like  it,"  she  said.  She  waited  for 
me  to  make  some  reply,  but  none  was  forthcom 
ing.  "I  hope  you  don't  think  you  have  won  a 
great  victory.  If  I  had  been  a  man,  perhaps  the 
victory  would  have  been  the  other  way." 

"I  didn't  compel  you  to  come  with  me,"  I  re 
marked. 

"You  mean  I  came  of  my  own  accord.  If  I 
did,  it  was  to  avoid  a  scene  before  my  mother — 
the  lady  you  saw  at  the  house.  I  didn't  want  her 
to  hear  you  bluster  and  threaten;  and,  besides,  I 
wanted  to  tell  you  what  I  think  of  you.  We 


122  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

have  both  had  our  way.  My  mother  thinks  you 
are  a  gentleman  in  a  way,  and  I  know  what  I 
know." 

I  trudged  along  by  her  side  silently;  I  had  no 
relish  for  an  argument  in  which  I  was  sure  to  get 
the  worst  of  it.  In  some  matters  a  man  is  no 
match  for  a  woman:  he  cannot  cope  with  her  in 
a  war  of  words.  Nor  will  silence  discomfit  them. 
At  least,  it  had  no  such  effect  in  this  instance, 
for  the  more  I  was  silent,  the  louder  and  faster 
she  talked,  and,  apparently,  the  angrier  she 
became. 

"You  will  boast,  no  doubt,"  said  she,  "and  tell 
your  comrades  how  you  lorded  it  over  a  young 
fellow  who  turned  out  to  be  a  woman — how  you 
compelled  her  to  go  with  you  to  General  For 
rest's  headquarters.  But  how  did  you  know  me? 
How  did  you  know  who  I  was?" 

I  laughed  aloud.  "Why,  I'd  know  you 
through  a  thousand  disguises,  as  I  knew  you  here 
that  first  night." 

"I  don't  believe  it;  you  didn't  know  me  that 
first  night;  you  had  never  seen  me  but  once  be 
fore,  and  you  couldn't  have  known  me.  How 
did  you  know  me  to-night?  You  won't  answer, 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  123 

or  if  you  do  you'll  say  you  knew  me  by  my  swag 
ger.  Anything  to  insult  a  woman.  I'd  like  to 
be  a  man  for  a  few  hours  just  to  see  how  they 
feel  toward  women — just  how  much  more  con 
tempt  they  feel  than  they  show.  I  tell  you,  you 
didn't  know  me  that  first  night." 

"Then  why  did  I  insist  on  going  home  with 
you?" 

This  rather  stumped  her.  "Because — because 
you  thought  I  was  a  slip  of  a  lad,  and  you  knew 
you  could  impose  on  me.  If  you  had  known  I 
was  a  woman,  you  wouldn't  have  called  me  a  lit 
tle  devil —  Yes,  you  would!"  she  quickly  added. 
"You  would  have  abused  me  worse  than  that  if 
you  had  known  I  was  a  woman.  How  did  you 
know — if  you  knew?" 

"By  your  eyes;  the  moment  I  looked  into  them 
fairly  I  said  to  myself,  'Here's  Jane  Ryder 
again;  no  one  has  eyes  like  hers!' ' 

She  was  silent  for  a  little  space,  and  then,  "Did 
it  never  occur  to  you  that  it  would  be  politer  to 
refer  to  me  as  Miss  Jane  Ryder?"  Now,  I  had 
never  thought  of  her  as  Miss  Jane  Ryder,  and  I 
told  her  so.  "Are  my  eyes  so  peculiar  that  you 
would  know  them  anywhere?  Are  they  posi- 


124  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

lively  hideous,  as  the  young  women  say?"  I 
hesitated,  and  she  went  on,  "But  why  do  I  ask? 
No  matter  what  you  think,  it  can  never,  never 
make  any  difference  to  me,  after  the  way  you 
have  treated  me  to-night,  and  I  hope  that  when 
you  bid  me  good-by,  as  you  will  have  to  do  di 
rectly,  that  I  shall  never  see  you  again." 

"That  is  the  talk  of  a  child,  and  you  are  sup 
posed  to  be  a  grown  woman,"  I  replied.  "You 
know  very  well  that  I  am  obliged  to  carry  out 
the  orders  of  my  General,  no  matter  how  much 
they  go  against  the  grain." 

She  stopped  in  the  road  and  tried  to  read  my 
face  even  in  the  dark.  "Do  you  really  mean 
that?"  and  then,  without  waiting  for  an  answer, 
she  turned  and  ran,  and  I  followed  the  best  I 
could. 


It  soon  dawned  on  me  that  this  surprising  young 
woman  was  as  nimble  with  her  feet  as  a  school 
boy.  She  scampered  away  from  me  in  a  way  to 
put  me  on  my  mettle,  and  she  must  have  run 
nearly  half  a  mile  before  I  could  come  up  with 
her.  I  touched  her  on  the  shoulder  lightly,  cry 
ing  "Caught!" 

"There  is  no  getting  rid  of  you,"  she  answered. 

"Oh,  but  there  is,  as  you  will  discover,"  I  said. 
"Once  with  your  kin-people,  you  will  see  no  more 
of  me."  I  was  vexed,  but  my  ill-humor  seemed 
to  add  to  her  high  spirits,  and  she  talked  away 
quite  blithely.  When  we  came  to  the  door  it  was 
open,  and  the  mother,  who  had  been  kind  to  me, 
stood  there  waiting.  She  was  crying  and  wring 
ing  her  hands,  and,  for  a  moment,  I  thought  she 
had  been  maltreated  by  those  whose  duty  it  was 
to  raid  the  house.  But  her  trouble  was  of  quite 
another  kind. 

125 


126  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"What  have  you  done  with  her?"  she  asked. 

"She  is  here  with  me,"  I  replied.  But  when 
I  turned  to  confirm  my  words,  Jane  Ryder  had 
disappeared.  I  could  only  stare  at  the  woman 
blankly  and  protest  that  she  had  been  at  my  side 
a  moment  ago  before.  "I  knew  it!"  wailed  the 
woman.  "First  comes  you  to  wheedle  her  away, 
and  then  come  your  companions  to  search  the 
house  for  her.  I  knew  how  it  would  be.  I 
never  knew  but  one  man  you  could  trust  with  a 
woman,  and  he  was  so  palsied  that  a  child  could 
push  him  over.  And  the  little  fool  was  fond  of 
you,  too."  And  with  that  she  wailed  louder  than 
ever. 

"But,  my  good  woman — "  I  began. 

"Don't  good  woman  me!"  she  cried.  "You 
don't  look  like  that  kind  of  a  man,  but  I  knew  it ; 
I  knew  how  it  would  be!" 

"Fiddlesticks  and  frog's  eggs!"  I  cried.  "Stop 
your  crying.  She  is  here  somewhere.  You  know 
well  enough  that  I  wouldn't  have  returned  with 
out  her.  She  came  to  the  door  with  me.  I'd 
have  you  to  know,  madam,  that  I'm  not  the  man 
you  take  me  for.  Do  you  think  I'd  injure  a  hair 
of  her  head?  It  is  you  that  have  injured  her  by 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  127 

allowing  her  to  masquerade  as  a  man — a  little 
thing  like  that,  with  nobody  to  advise  her.  You 
are  her  mother  and  pretend  to  be  fond  of  her; 
why  didn't  you  advise  her  against  all  this?  Why 
didn't  you  take  a  hickory  to  her  and  compel  her 
to  remember  her  sex  ?  You  are  the  cause  of  it  all 
— yes,  you!" 

I  spoke  in  a  very  loud  tone,  for  I  was  very 
angry,  and  I  knew  that  the  only  way  to  contend 
with  a  woman  was  to  make  more  noise  than  she 
could.  Just  as  I  was  about  to  continue  my  rail 
ing  protest,  Jane  Ryder  came  through  an  inner 
door,  dressed,  as  she  should  be,  in  the  garb  of  her 
sex.  Her  toilette  would  have  been  complete  but 
for  the  fact  that  in  her  haste  her  hair  had  fallen 
loose  from  its  fastenings  and  now  flowed  over 
her  shoulders  and  down  to  her  waist,  black  as 
night  and  as  shiny  as  silk. 

"I  thank  you  both  for  your  good  opinions," 
she  said,  making  a  mock  courtesy,  "especially  the 
chivalrous  Mr.  Carroll  Shannon,  with  his  straps, 
and  his  hickories,  and  his  riding-whips,  and  I 
hope  he  will  soon  get  a  woman  on  whom  he  can 
use  them  all." 

"Oh,  Jane!  Jane!"  cried  the  other,  "why  will 


128  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

you  worry  those  who  love  you?  Why  will  you 
try  them  so?" 

The  young  woman's  face  fell  at  that,  and  she 
seemed  to  be  very  contrite.  She  went  quickly 
across  the  room  and  never  paused  until  she  found 
herself  in  the  woman's  arms,  and  showed  her  love 
by  so  many  quaint  and  delicate  little  caresses,  and 
had  such  a  dainty  and  bewitching  way  about  her, 
that  no  human  could  have  held  out  against  her. 
The  woman's  face  had  cleared  on  the  instant  and 
was  no  more  clouded  with  grief  and  anxiety. 
"You  see  how  she  is,"  said  the  woman  to  me; 
"hurting  you  to  the  heart  one  minute  and  mak 
ing  you  forget  it  the  next." 

"I  see,"  I  replied;  "but  you  should  control  her. 
You  should  make  her  remember  who  and  what 
she  is,  and  not  permit  her  to  go  about  as  a  man 
or  boy.  Don't  you  know  how  dangerous  it  is?" 

"Oh,  but  she's  her  own  mistress,"  the  woman 
explained.  "She  can  wheedle,  and  no  one  can 
say  her  nay.  But  I'm  glad  she  went  away  to 
night,  though  I  was  terribly  afraid  for  her.  She 
had  no  more  than  got  out  of  hearing  before  there 
came  a  pack  of  troopers,  and  nothing  must  do 
but  they  must  search  the  whole  house  from  top 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  129 

to  bottom.  They  were  hunting  for  Leroy,  too, 
and  if  she  had  been  here  there  would  have  been 
trouble." 

"What  did  I  tell  you?"  I  exclaimed.  "I  cap 
tured  her  ahead  of  them,  carried  her  to  General 
Forrest,  and  now  she  is  my  prisoner.  I  am  re 
sponsible  for  her." 

"I  believe  I  had  rather  the  others  had  captured 
me,"  Jane  Ryder  declared.  The  woman  looked 
at  me  and  shook  her  head,  as  much  as  to  say, 
"Never  believe  her." 

"Why  did  you  trouble  yourself?"  Jane  Ryder 
inquired.  "I  am  sure  I  never  gave  you  any 
cause  to  worry  yourself  about  me.  If  you  think 
you  have  done  me  a  service  you  were  never  more 
mistaken  in  your  life.  You  have  simply  de 
stroyed  my  usefulness  for  the  time  being;  but 
you  have  given  me  an  opportunity  to  show  you 
what  I  think  of  your  intermeddling." 

"Jane!  you  know  that  he  has  meddled  with  you 
only  for  your  own  good,"  said  the  older  woman. 
"You  ought  to  thank  him  on  your  knees." 

"On  my  knees!"  she  exclaimed  angrily.  "On 
my  knees!  I  dare  say  he  would  like  to  see  me 
on  my  knees  before  him,  but  he'll  see  me  dead 


130  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

first."  I  was  surprised  at  the  heat  she  showed 
over  the  matter. 

"Your  mother,"  I  said,  "has  simply  used  an 
unfortunate  expression.  You  owe  me  nothing 
— and  if  you  owed  me  everything  a  kind  word 
would  more  than  repay  me." 

She  bit  her  lip,  but  made  no  reply.  "It's  her 
way,"  explained  the  mother,  "and  I'm  free  to  say 
it's  a  very  poor  way.  It  has  always  been  her  way. 
Love  her  and  she'll  hurt  you ;  do  her  a  favor  and 
she'll  pretend  to  despise  you.  Her  kind  words 
are  as  scarce  as  pearls  among  the  poor.  Scarce, 
but  when  they  are  spoken  they  make  up  for  all 
the  rest.  Don't  be  angry  with  her;  a  big  man 
like  you  shouldn't  care  what  a  child  like  her  says." 

"Child!  I  am  older  than  he  is,"  said  Jane 
Ryder. 

"But  age  is  not  age  unless  it  has  experience 
and  judgment,"  remarked  the  older  woman, 
serenely.  "Without  them,  age  is  another  form 
of  childishness." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  me?"  asked 
Jane  Ryder,  turning  to  me.  She  was  evidently 
weary  of  a  discussion  of  which  she  was  the  sub 
ject. 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  131 

She  had  placed  her  finger  squarely  on  my  per 
plexity,  for  this  was  indeed  the  great  problem 
that  I  had  to  solve — what  should  I  do  with  her? 
Not  to-morrow,  nor  the  day  after,  but  now — to 
night.  The  question  had  occurred  to  me  a  dozen 
times,  but  I  had  put  it  aside,  trusting  its  solution 
to  the  moment  when  it  could  be  no  longer  post 
poned.  I  hesitated  so  long  that  both  of  the 
women  sat  staring  at  me.  "You  have  not  an 
swered  my  question,"  said  Jane  Ryder,  "and  it 
is  important  that  I  should  know." 

"I  might  give  you  your  parole  for  the  night," 
I  answered. 

"You  persist  in  regarding  me  as  your  pris 
oner?" 

"I  have  my  orders,"  I  replied.  "You  know 
that  as  well  as  I  do." 

"Thank  you  for  your  information.  Good 
night!"  and  she  was  gone  before  I  could  say  a 
word,  even  if  I  had  known  what  to  say.  All  I 
could  do  was  to  stare  blankly  at  the  door  through 
which  she  had  disappeared.  I  had  known  all 
along  that  if  she  once  took  the  matter  in  her  own 
hands  I  should  be  powerless,  for  she  was  a  woman 
— and  such  a  woman!  I  could  no  more  hold  her 


132  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

prisoner  against  her  will  than  I  could  fly.  My 
whole  nature  revolted  at  the  thought  of  it.  She 
was  a  woman — a  dangerous  woman,  no  doubt, 
but  still  a  woman — and  that  settled  it  for  me. 

And  then,  after  I  had  looked  at  the  door  long 
enough  to  stare  it  out  of  countenance,  if  it  had 
had  one,  I  turned  to  the  mother  and  stared  at  her. 
There  was  just  the  shadow  of  a  smile  hovering 
around  her  lips,  and  it  nettled  me.  "She  is 
parading  as  a  man,"  I  said,  "and  I  think  I  shall 
treat  her  as  one.  A  man  can  be  rapped  on  the 
head,  tied  up,  and  bundled  about,  without  regard 
for  his  comfort." 

"And  yet,"  said  the  mother,  with  her  knowing 
smile,  "you  wouldn't  hurt  a  hair  of  her  head,  nor 
give  her  a  moment's  discomfort."  She  made  the 
statement  with  so  much  complacency  that  I  was 
more  than  irritated;  I  was  vexed. 

"If  you  knew  me,"  I  declared,  "you  wouldn't 
say  that.  I  have  no  patience  with  women  who 
try  to  play  the  man." 

"I  know  you  well  enough  to  say  what  I  have 
said,"  she  replied.  "You  have  a  face  that  tells 
no  lies — and  more's  the  pity." 

"Where  has  she  gone?"  I  inquired. 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  133 

"That  I  can't  tell  you,"  the  mother  replied; 
"but  it  would  be  the  wonder  of  the  world  if  she 
had  gone  to  bed.  We  who  love  her  have  no 
power  to  control  her.  She  needs  a  stronger 
hand  than  ours." 

"I  could  tell  you  something  if  I  would,"  she 
remarked  presently;  "but  it  would  be  like  feeling 
my  way  in  the  dark,  and  I  dare  not.  Yet  there 
is  another  thing  I  will  tell  you  that  can  do  no 
harm,  though  I  promised  to  keep  it  to  myself. 
If  you  stay  here  you  will  get  in  trouble.  The 
man  you  shot  night  before  last  has  a  brother,  and 
this  brother  is  determined  to  capture  you.  I'm 
telling  you  this  because  I  think  you  are  a  good 
young  man.  I  had  a  son  once  who,  if  he  had 
lived,  should  be  about  your  age,  and  I  would  have 
thanked  any  woman  in  the  world  to  have  given 
him  the  warning  I  have  given  you.  You  can 
gain  nothing  by  remaining  here.  You  can  re 
turn  in  the  morning.  Jane  will  be  here;  she  is 
not  going  to  run  away  from  you." 

"Nevertheless,  I  must  do  my  duty,"  I  said. 
"With  your  permission,  I  shall  remain  here. 
Does  Jane  Ryder  know  of  the  purpose  of  this 
fellow?" 


134  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"Oh,  no ;  I  wouldn't  tell  her.  She  has  trouble 
enough."  She  paused  and  hesitated.  "Why 
not  go?  There  is  the  door;  it  is  unlocked  and 
you  will  still  have  time  to  join  your  friends. 
This  is  all  I  can  say  to  you — all  I  can  do  for  you." 

"No;  you  can  pray  for  me.  And  another 
thing:  if  you  hear  any  noise  cover  up  your  head 
and  make  Jane  Ryder  cover  hers." 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know  what  to  make  of  you," 
she  said,  puckering  her  forehead  as  she  stood  in 
the  door. 

"But  I  think  I  know  what  to  make  of  you  and 
your  daughter,"  I  replied,  with  a  laugh. 

"Above  all  things,  don't  misjudge  us,"  and 
with  that  she  was  gone,  closing  the  door  behind 
her. 

How  long  I  sat  there  I  know  not ;  it  may  have 
been  one  hour  or  it  may  have  been  many;  but 
some  time  during  the  night  there  came  a  rap  at 
the  door  and  the  pictures  of  Jane  Ryder  were 
blotted  out  of  the  fire  and  went  flitting  up  the 
chimney.  The  knocking  was  on  the  outer  door, 
which  was  unlocked,  as  the  woman  had  said,  and 
I  cried  out,  "Come  in!"  Responsive  to  the  invi 
tation,  Whistling  Jim  made  his  appearance,  and 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  135 

I  was  more  than  glad  to  see  him.  I  discovered 
for  the  first  time  that  I  had  been  oppressed  by 
my  loneliness,  for  my  spirits  rose  to  a  great 
height. 

He  seemed  very  glad  to  see  me,  for  he  laughed 
aloud.  "I  bet  a  dollar  you  ain't  had  no  supper," 
he  said,  "an'  I  tuck  an'  brung  you  some.  'Tain't 
much,  but  it's  better'n  none."  But  I  had  no  ap 
petite.  "I'm  mighty  glad  I  brung  yo'  pistols, 
too,  kaze  dey's  sump'n  wrong  gwine  on  'roun' 
here.  I  seed  two  er  th'ee  men  prowlin'  roun'  in  de 
bushes  ez  I  come  'long.  Marse  Cally,  how  come 
you  ter  leave  yo'  pistols  in  yo'  saddle?  You 
ain't  been  a-doin'  dataway.  I  speck  dat  ar  little 
man  you  had  up  in  front  er  you  had  sump'n  ter 
do  wid  it."  He  laughed,  but  I  found  nothing 
humorous  in  the  allusion.  "Did  I  say  'oman, 
Marse  Cally?"  I  shook  my  head.  "Kaze  ef  I 
did,  it  slipped  out  des  dry  so.  I  wuz  comin'  atter 
you  anyhow,  but  Marse  Harry  holla'd  at  me  an' 
tol'  me  fer  ter  fin'  you  an'  say  dat  de  troops 
gwineter  move  in  de  mornin'  an'  our  comp'ny 
starts  fust." 

I  nibbled  the  food  he  had  brought  me,  with 
some  particularly  heavy  thoughts  in  regard  to  the 


136  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

course  we  were  to  take.  Yesterday  I  was  a  boy, 
and  a  very  foolish  one,  but  to-day  I  felt  myself 
to  be  a  man.  The  feeling  was  the  growth  of  a 
night,  but  it  gave  me  new  confidence  in  myself, 
and,  coupled  with  it,  an  assurance  that  I  had 
never  had  before,  and  that  has  remained  with  me 
all  through  the  long  years  that  have  intervened. 
I  think  it  must  have  caught  the  eye  of  Whistling 
Jim — the  change,  I  mean — for  he  regarded  me 
curiously  and  closely. 

"Marse  Cally,"  he  said  after  a  while,  "I  b'lieve 
you  done  got  mo'  settled,  sence — dog  ef  I  don't 
b'lieve  dat  it's  been  sence  yistiddy!  I  dunner 
wharbouts  de  change  is,  but  it  sho'  is  dar.  It 
mought  be  de  way  you  look  at  me,  an*  it  mought 
be  de  way  you  don't  look  at  me — an'  ef  you  ain't 
done  grow'd  bigger  I  ain't  no  nigger." 

"I  have  only  ceased  to  be  giddy  for  the  time 
being,"  I  said.  "I  am  afraid  I  have  some  seri 
ous  work  cut  out  for  me  to-night.  If  you  want 
to  go  you  are  welcome  to  do  so,  and  if  you  stay 
I'll  be  glad  to  have  you.  I  don't  know  anyone  I 
had  rather  have  near  me  when  a  row  springs  up." 

"Me,  Marse  Cally?  You  sholy  don't  mean 
me."  It  was  plain  that  he  was  delighted.  "You 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  137 

know  how  skeery  I  is,  Marse  Cally,  when  dey's  a 
row  gwine  on.  I  can't  he'p  gittin'  skeer'd  ter 
save  my  life.  But  it's  de  same  way  'bout  leavin' 
you;  I'm  skeer'd  ter  leave  you.  I  couldn't  go 
out  dat  door  fer  ter  save  my  life."  Whistling 
Jim  held  out  his  long,  slim  hands  where  he  could 
look  at  them.  Then  he  ran  the  scale  of  an  imag 
inary  piano,  once,  twice,  and  shivered  again.  "I 
tell  you,  Marse  Cally,  I'm  a-gittin'  skeerder  an' 
skeerder.  I  wish  dey'd  come  on  ef  dey  comin'." 

"Well,"  said  I,  "I'll  place  the  key  of  the  door 
on  the  mantel  here,  and  you  can  go  out  whenever 
you  want  to." 

But  he  protested  almost  violently.  "Don't 
you  dast  ter  do  dat,  Marse  Cally!  You  put  dat 
key  in  yo'  pocket,  an'  let  it  stay  dar."  Never 
theless,  I  laid  it  on  the  mantel.  The  negro  looked 
at  it  more  than  once,  and  finally,  as  if  taking  leave 
of  the  temptation  it  represented,  blew  it  a  kiss 
from  his  long  fingers. 

As  he  sat  down,  four  men  filed  into  the  room 
through  the  inner  door,  which  had  opened  almost 
noiselessly. 


XI 

The  men  came  in  treading  on  one  another's  heels. 
The  leader  was  a  thick-set,  heavily  built  fellow, 
and  he  had  an  evil-looking  eye.  He  was  evi 
dently  a  soldier,  or  had  been  one,  for  he  had  the 
air  and  bearing  that  is  unmistakable  in  a  man 
who  has  seen  service.  He  had  a  heavy  jaw,  and 
I  noticed  that  his  hair  was  cropped  close  to  his 
head.  The  others  appeared  to  be  civilians,  plain 
honest  men,  but  ready,  as  were  many  men  in 
Tennessee  in  those  days,  to  help  the  Union  cause 
in  a  quiet  way. 

"You  said  thar  was  only  one,"  remarked  one 
of  them  to  the  short-haired  man. 

"I  only  told  you  what  Captain  Leroy  said," 
replied  the  leader. 

"Well,  you  better  had  'a'  fetched  Leroy 
along,"  commented  the  man,  and  I  judged  that 
he  had  small  stomach  for  the  work  before  him. 

I  realized  that  the  time  had  come  for  me  to 

138 


The  leader     .      .      .      had  an  evil-looking  eye 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  139 

speak  up.  "State  your  business,"  said  I.  "What 
do  you  want  with  me?" 

"We  want  you  to  go  with  us,"  replied  the 
short-haired  man;  "and  well  get  our  wants, 
too." 

"Where  am  I  to  go?" 

"You'll  know  when  you  get  there,"  was  the 
answer. 

"By  which  road?"  I  asked.  "I  am  very  care 
ful  about  the  roads  I  travel." 

"We'll  look  after  the  roads  all  right,"  he  re 
plied.  "Will  you  go  peaceable  or  not?" 

"Just  for  the  looks  of  the  thing,"  I  replied, 
"I'd  rather  have  it  said  that  I  surrendered  only 
after  a  struggle."  Glancing  at  the  three  men 
the  ruffian  had  brought  with  him,  I  was  con 
firmed  in  my  impression  that  the  affair  was  by 
no  means  to  their  taste.  If  they  had  made  a 
rush  all  together  it  would  have  been  the  easiest 
matter  in  the  world  to  overpower  me,  but  some 
how  they  hung  back. 

"Come  on,"  the  man  cried  to  his  companions, 
making  as  if  he  would  lead  them.  They  hesi 
tated,  and  it  was  then  that  I  gave  them  my  views 
of  the  situation. 


140  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"Gentlemen,"  I  said,  "I  take  you  for  honest, 
fair-minded  men,  and  I  would  advise  you  to  have 
no  hand  in  this  business.  This  man's  orders  are 
from  no  competent  authority,  and  I  give  you 
fair  warning  that  you  will  bitterly  regret  your 
part  in  this  night's  work  if  you  live  through 
it." 

I  could  see  anxiety,  not  fear,  creep  into  their 
faces,  and  a  wholesome  doubt  of  their  leader's 
good  faith.  I  was  satisfied  that  my  words  had 
taken  the  edge  off  their  eagerness,  and  this  was 
all  I  hoped  to  do.  I  think  the  ruffian  must  have 
felt  that  his  companions  were  weakening,  for  he 
paused  and  turned  toward  them,  with  his  hand 
under  his  coat,  as  if  in  the  act  of  drawing  a 
weapon.  What  he  intended  to  say  I  never  knew, 
for,  as  he  turned  toward  them,  still  watching  me 
out  of  the  corner  of  his  evil  eye,  Whistling  Jim 
was  upon  him. 

Seizing  the  man  in  his  arms,  he  whirled  him 
around  until  he  could  get  sufficient  impetus,  and 
then  threw  him  against  the  wall  as  if  he  had  been 
fired  from  a  catapult.  If  you  have  never  wit 
nessed  the  fury  of  genuine  fright  it  is  to  be  hoped 
you  never  will,  for  there  is  something  hideous 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  141 

about  it.  The  ruffian  had  hardly  hit  the  wall 
before  the  negro  was  upon  him  again,  making  a 
noise  in  his  throat  like  some  wild  animal,  his  face 
distorted  and  the  muscles  of  his  arms  and  body 
standing  out  as  prominently  as  if  he  were  cov 
ered  with  huge  wens  or  tumors. 

The  man  had  not  been  so  badly  stunned  by 
his  collision  with  the  wall  but  that  he  could  turn 
over,  and  by  the  time  the  negro  reached  him  he 
had  drawn  his  pistol  half-way  from  his  pocket; 
but  that  was  all.  Whistling  Jim  seized  the  hand 
and  held  it,  and,  using  his  head  as  a  battering-ram, 
jammed  it  into  the  man's  stomach  and  into  his 
face.  Then  he  dragged  the  limp  body  toward 
the  fireplace,  crying,  "Git  out  de  way,  Marse 
Cally.  I'm  gwine  ter  put  'im  whar  he  can't 
pester  nobody  else.  Ef  I  don't  he  sho  will  shoot 
me,  kaze  I  done  seed  his  pistol." 

While  the  negro  was  thus  engaged  with  the 
most  dangerous  of  the  men,  it  is  not  to  be  sup 
posed  that  I  was  idle.  The  three  companions  of 
the  ruffian  started  to  his  aid  when  Whistling  Jim 
began  operations — their  hesitation  suddenly  turn 
ing  into  indignation  when  they  beheld  the  specta 
cle  of  a  negro  assaulting  a  white  man.  The 


142  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

foremost  went  down  under  the  chair  with  which 
I  struck  him,  the  second  one  tripped  over  the 
fallen  body  and  also  went  down  with  my  assist 
ance.  The  third  man  suddenly  found  the  frame 
of  the  well-made  chair  fitting  around  his  neck 
like  the  yoke  of  an  ox.  I  did  my  best  to  pull 
his  head  off  in  order  to  recover  my  weapon,  but 
his  neck  was  tougher  than  the  joints  of  white 
oak,  and  the  two  long  legs  that  went  to  make 
up  the  back  of  the  chair  came  off  in  my  hand, 
thus  giving  me  a  bludgeon  very  much  to  my 
taste. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  negro  came 
dragging  the  body  of  the  ruffian  and  declaring 
his  intention  of  giving  him  a  foretaste  of  tor 
ment.  My  anger  was  of  such  a  blind  and  un 
reasoning  sort  that  I  had  no  objections  to  the 
horrible  proceeding,  and  if  there  had  been  no  sud 
den  diversion  I  should,  in  all  probability,  have 
aided  him  in  carrying  out  his  purpose.  But 
there  came  a  tremendous  knocking  at  the  door, 
and  I  could  hear  someone  rapping  and  kicking 
at  the  panels  trying  to  force  an  entrance.  So  I 
laid  a  restraining  hand  on  the  negro  and  bade 
him  drop  the  almost  lifeless  body. 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  143 

Giving  him  one  of  the  chair-legs,  and  bidding 
him  keep  an  eye  on  the  three  men,  who  evidently 
had  had  enough  of  the  rough  things  of  life,  I 
went  to  the  door.  The  key  was  in  a  position  to 
reflect  the  light,  and  I  had  the  door  open  in  a 
moment;  but  whoever  had  rapped  to  get  in 
seemed  to  have  changed  his  mind.  No  one  came 
in  and  no  one  made  an  effort  to  enter,  but  in  an 
other  moment  I  heard  the  voice  of  Jane  Ryder. 
"Run!  run!"  she  cried.  "Run,  if  you  want  to 
escape!  The  back  yard  is  full  of  Union  sol 
diers!" 

But  I  thought  that  this  was  only  a  ruse  on  the 
part  of  the  little  lady  to  get  rid  of  me,  and,  in 
stead  of  getting  away,  as  I  should  have  done,  I 
stepped  out  into  the  hallway.  The  sight  that  I 
saw  filled  me  with  indignation,  for  there  stood 
Jane  Ryder,  leaning  against  her  mother,  and 
rigged  out  in  the  toggery  of  a  man. 

I  took  her  by  the  arm,  and  I  must  have  gripped 
it  roughly,  for  she  winced.  "If  you  know  what 
is  good  for  you,"  I  said,  very  sternly,  "you  will 
get  yourself  out  of  this  wretched  garb  and  throw 
it  in  the  fire.  Will  you  go?" 

"How  can  I  go  when  you  are  holding  me?"  she 


144  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

asked  piteously.  I  released  her  and  she  went  up 
the  stairway  sobbing. 

Half-way  up  the  stairs,  she  turned  to  me. 
"You  will  be  sorry  you  didn't  go  when  I  told  you. 
You  couldn't  go  now  if  you  wanted  to,"  and  with 
that  she  disappeared. 

I  could  have  cracked  my  silly  pate  at  the  sight 
of  her  weeping.  I  felt  a  hand  on  my  arm,  and 
found  her  mother  standing  at  my  side,  laughing 
softly.  Seeing  that  I  regarded  her  with  un 
feigned  astonishment,  she  laughed  the  louder. 
"You  are  the  first  that  has  ever  mastered  her. 
She  is  beyond  me.  When  I  married  my  second 
husband  she  declared  that  I  had  sold  my  interest 
in  her  for  a  pair  of  side-whiskers." 

The  mother  said  this  so  pathetically  that  I 
could  but  laugh,  seeing  that  there  was  so  much 
incongruity  between  the  remark  and  the  situation 
all  about  us.  My  laughter  must  have  jarred  her, 
for  she  said  with  some  asperity,  "You  are  laugh 
ing  now,  but  in  a  minute  you  will  be  laughing  on 
the  other  side  of  your  mouth!" 

And  it  was  even  as  she  said.  A  file  of  soldiers 
entered  from  the  rear,  and  before  I  had  time  to 
move  or  raise  a  hand  they  had  me  surrounded. 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  145 

Their  leader  was  a  man  full  of  laughter  and  good- 
humor.  "Consider  yourself  a  prisoner,"  he  said 
to  me.  "How  are  you,  mother?  You  are  look 
ing  well.  Where  is  sister?  Upstairs?  Well, 
get  her  down,  for  we  must  be  moving  away  from 
here.  What  is  all  this?"  He  looked  into  the 
room  out  of  which  I  had  come,  and  saw  there  the 
evidences  of  a  struggle,  as  well  as  the  victims 
thereof. 

He  bustled  about  with  an  alertness  that  seemed 
to  be  prepared  for  anything  that  might  happen. 
I  saw  at  once  that  he  was  a  West  Pointer.  I 
had  seen  not  more  than  a  dozen  graduates  of  the 
great  military  academy,  but  enough  to  recognize 
the  characteristics  that  marked  them  all.  These 
characteristics  are  wellnigh  indescribable,  but 
they  are  all  included  in  the  terms  "soldier  and 
gentleman." 

"The  bruiser  has  been  bruised,"  he  laughed. 
"You  are  looking  well,  mother;  keep  it  up  for 
the  sake  of  the  children.  Tell  sister  to  hurry  up ; 
we  are  in  a  tight  place  here." 

As  he  spoke,  there  was  the  noise  of  another 
scuffle  in  the  room.  I  turned  just  in  time  to  see 
Whistling  Jim  fling  himself  upon  the  man,  who 


146  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

had  risen  to  a  sitting  position  and  was  making  an 
effort  to  draw  his  pistol.  The  negro  wrenched 
the  weapon  from  him,  threw  it  out  of  reach, 
seized  the  hand  that  had  held  it  and  crunched  it 
between  his  teeth  with  such  savage  ferocity  that 
the  ruffian  howled  with  pain. 

"Oh,  come!"  cried  the  officer.  "This  won't  do, 
you  know;  this  won't  do  at  all.  I  won't  put  up 
with  it." 

"Ef  I  hadn't  er  ketched  him  when  I  did  he'd 
er  shot  me  daid,"  Whistling  Jim  explained; 
"me  er  Marse  Cally  one.  You  don't  know  dat 
man,  suh.  He  been  follerin'  atter  we-all  fer  de 
longest." 

"I  know  him  well  enough,"  remarked  the 
officer.  "Still — "  He  paused  as  if  listening. 
The  noise  he  heard  was  Jane  Ryder  coming  from 
above.  He  met  her  half-way  up  the  stairs. 
"My  dear  old  sis!"  he  exclaimed  as  he  clasped 
her  in  his  arms.  She  said  nothing,  but  sobbed 
on  his  shoulder  in  a  hysterical  way  that  was  a 
surprise  to  me.  "Brace  up,  dear  girl,"  he  said, 
trying  to  soothe  her. 

"They  were  always  like  that,"  said  the  mother 
in  her  placid  way.  "I  think  it  is  so  nice  for 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  147 

brother  and  sister  to  be  fond  of  each  other. 
Don't  forget  that  she  gave  you  fair  warning." 
Her  attitude  and  the  tone  of  her  voice  were  so 
out  of  tune  with  all  my  thoughts  and  surround 
ings  that  I  regarded  her  with  amazement.  She 
paid  no  attention  to  the  look,  however,  but  folded 
her  hands  across  her  ample  bosom  and  smiled  at 
her  children  in  a  motherly  way. 

These  children,  I  knew,  were  speaking  of  me, 
though  I  could  not  hear  all  they  said,  for  the 
officer — he  was  Colonel  Ryder — laughed  and 
said,  "Oh,  he'll  be  in  good  company.  I  picked 
up  another  fellow  in  the  woods.  He  says  his 
name  is  Jasper  Goodrum."  Then  she  said  some 
thing  in  a  low  tone,  something  that  caused  her 
brother  to  regard  me  with  considerable  interest. 

"Is  that  so?"  he  exclaimed.  "You  must  tell 
me  the  particulars  later;  I  have  no  time  to  hear 
them  now.  We  must  get  away  from  here." 


XII 

As  he  said,  so  it  was;  he  hustled  everything  be 
fore  him,  permitting  me  to  keep  my  horse  and 
allowing  Whistling  Jim  to  go  along.  "Good- 
by,  mother,"  he  said;  "I'm  sorry  to  leave  you  in 
such  a  place  as  this.  I  suppose  you  are  waiting 
for  Major  Whiskers."  He  laughed  gayly  as  he 
said  this,  and  his  mother  slapped  him  playfully 
as  she  kissed  him. 

He  invited  me  to  ride  with  him  at  the  head  of 
his  little  squad  of  troops,  saying  that  when  a 
colonel  started  out  to  command  a  corporal's 
guard  he  assuredly  needed  assistance.  He  was 
perhaps  thirty  years  old,  but  he  had  a  tremendous 
fund  of  animal  spirits,  so  that  he  had  all  the  ways 
of  a  gay  youth  of  twenty.  He  paid  no  more 
attention  to  the  man  who  had  been  knocked  about 
by  Whistling  Jim  than  if  he  had  been  a  log  of 
wood,  and  yet  he  was  very  tender-hearted. 
Whatever  was  in  the  line  of  war  appealed  to  his 
professional  instincts.  War  was  his  trade,  and 
he  seemed  to  love  it ;  and  he  had  a  great  relish  for 
the  bustle  and  stir  that  are  incident  thereto. 

149 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  149 

His  sister  rode  in  the  top-buggy  in  which  I 
had  first  seen  her,  and  she  might  have  been  the 
commander  of  the  men,  judging  from  the  way 
she  gave  instructions.  She  seemed  to  know  all 
the  roads,  for  she  went  ahead  without  the  slight 
est  hesitation.  She  was  driving  a  good  horse, 
too ;  his  trot  was  sufficient  to  keep  our  horses  in  a 
canter ;  and  whenever  he  heard  us  coming  up  be 
hind  him  he  would  whisk  the  buggy  away  as  if  he 
scorned  company.  Perhaps  this  was  due  to  the 
little  lady  who  was  driving  him. 

I  had  no  grudge  against  her,  heaven  knows, 
but  somehow  I  resented  my  present  plight,  for 
which  I  thought  she  was  responsible.  She  had 
given  me  fair  warning,  but  she  should  have 
known  that  it  was  my  purpose  to  carry  out  the 
orders  of  General  Forrest;  and  if  I  was  to  be 
warned  at  all  she  should  have  told  me  the  precise 
nature  of  the  danger.  In  that  case,  I  could  not 
only  have  escaped,  but  I  could  have  been  instru 
mental  in  the  capture  of  her  brother  and  his 
whole  party.  Perhaps  she  knew  this — and  per 
haps  this  was  why  she  would  give  me  no  definite 
information. 

But  if  she  knew  at  all  she  must  have  known 


150  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

everything;  her  brother  must  have  come  in  re 
sponse  to  a  summons  from  her  or  her  mother.  In 
any  case  I  had  been  tricked — I  had  been  made  a 
fool  of — and  after  what  I  had  done  for  her,  I 
felt  that  I  had  a  right  to  feel  aggrieved.  Colo 
nel  Ryder  observed  my  sullenness  and  com 
mented  on  it. 

"Don't  be  down-hearted,  my  boy.  It  is  the 
fortune  of  war;  there  is  no  telling  when  it  may 
turn  its  sunny  side  to  you.  In  your  place  I 
should  whistle  and  sing  and  make  the  best  of  it. 
Still,  I  know  how  you  feel,  and  I  sympathize 
with  you." 

"I  should  not  have  gone  to  that  house  last 
night,"  he  went  on,  "but  I  knew  that  my  mother 
was  there,  and  I  had  received  information  that 
one  of  our  scouts  by  the  name  of  Leroy  was  in 
great  danger  of  capture.  What  I  did  discover 
was  that  Miss  Ryder  had  been  captured."  He 
laughed  as  he  said  this,  and  gave  me  a  peculiar 
look. 

"As  to  Leroy,"  I  asked,  "was  he  at  that  house? 
I  am  very  much  interested  in  knowing,  for  Gen 
eral  Forrest  detailed  me  to  capture  him." 

"Under  the  circumstances,  you  acquitted  your- 


A   LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  151 

self  wonderfully  well,  and  General  Forrest  has 
no  right  to  be  displeased  with  you,"  remarked 
Colonel  Ryder. 

"But  you  have  not  answered  my  question,"  I 
said. 

"In  the  nature  of  things,"  he  replied,  enigmat 
ically,  "I  prefer  not  to  tell  you.  Of  one  thing 
you  may  be  sure — Leroy  is  not  likely  to  bother 
the  rebels  for  some  time  to  come.  I  think  you 
have  put  him  out  of  business,  as  the  boys  say." 

"Then  Leroy  must  be  the  name  of  the  man 
that  tried  to  capture  me  at  the  tavern.  It  was 
the  negro  that  put  him  out  of  business." 

"But  Leroy  is  a  very  dear  friend  of  mine," 
laughed  the  Colonel,  "and  you  may  be  sure  I 
should  not  have  left  him  there.  You  observed, 
of  course,  that  I  was  very  attentive  to  the  man 
your  negro  had  whipped."  He  was  still  laugh 
ing,  and  I  could  not  imagine  for  the  life  of  me 
why  he  was  tickled. 


XIII 

We  rode  along  without  adventure  of  any  kind, 
though  I  momentarily  expected  to  hear  the  tramp 
of  Forrest's  outriders  behind  us.  They  never 
came,  and  about  ten  o'clock — my  stomach  was 
my  clock  in  this  instance,  for  I  had  had  no  break 
fast — we  suddenly  turned  off  from  the  main  road 
and  plunged  into  the  shadows  of  the  finest  wood 
I  had  ever  seen.  There  were  giant  chestnuts, 
giant  poplars,  giant  oaks,  and  giant  pines.  They 
were  so  large  that  human  beings  seemed  small 
and  insignificant  beside  them,  and  I  realized  that 
we  were  in  the  primeval  forest. 

The  thought,  however,  did  not  satisfy  my  hun 
ger,  and  I  wondered  when  and  where  a  halt  was 
to  be  called  and  rations  parcelled  out.  It  is  a 
vexatious  feeling  for  the  young  to  feel  the 
pangs  of  hunger,  and  I  was  not  used  to  a  long 
fast.  My  feelings  were  relieved  by  Whistling 
Jim,  who  informed  me  that  he  had  placed  a  very 

152 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  153 

substantial  ration  in  my  holsters;  and  I  am  free 
to  say  that,  after  Colonel  Ryder,  the  negro  was 
the  most  thoughtful  and  considerate  person  I 
have  ever  seen.  He  had  an  easy  explanation  for 
it,  and  spoke  of  it  very  lightly,  remarking  that 
all  he  had  to  do  was  to  think  of  himself  first  "an* 
de  white  folks  nex'." 

In  turning  into  the  wood,  we  were  following 
the  lead  of  the  little  lady  in  the  top -buggy,  and 
I  think  that  Colonel  Ryder  had  no  idea  whither 
she  was  leading  him.  Yet  he  yielded  himself 
and  his  men  to  her  guidance  with  a  confidence 
that  few  soldiers  would  have  displayed.  We  had 
come  very  rapidly  until  we  turned  out  of  the 
main  road,  and  then  we  went  along  more  lei 
surely.  This  gave  me  time  to  overcome  my 
natural  stupidity,  for  I  finally  realized  that  our 
rapid  movements  on  the  main  road  were  intended 
to  place  us  beyond  the  reach  of  Forrest's  advance 
guard. 

The  by-way  that  we  were  now  following  ap 
peared  to  be  little  used,  yet  it  was  a  wide  road 
and  a  good  one,  and  probably  served  as  the  means 
of  communication  between  isolated  farms,  or  it 
may  have  led  to  some  lonely  grist-mill  which  had 


154  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

been  built  for  the  convenience  of  that  thinly 
populated  region.  Though  it  was  but  little 
used,  it  was  plain  to  the  eye,  and  I  thought  with 
a  smile  that  if  Captain  Bill  Forrest's  company 
should  happen  to  have  any  leisure  a  dozen  or 
more  of  them  would  be  sure  to  see  where  it  led, 
in  which  event 

The  smile  faded  away  as  soon  it  came,  for  I 
thought  of  the  little  lady  in  the  top-buggy  who 
was  driving  ahead  with  so  much  confidence.  She 
would  be  safe  in  any  event,  but  what  would  she 
think  of  me  if  her  brother  should  be  captured  or 
killed?  I  shrunk  from  facing  such  a  contin 
gency;  I  shrunk  without  knowing  why.  Being 
a  young  fellow,  and  feeling  my  importance  as  I 
have  never  felt  it  since,  I  imagined  she  would 
hold  me  responsible.  I  had  interfered  with  her 
plans  in  more  ways  than  one,  and  I  felt  that 
she  owed  me  a  grudge  that  would  grow  to  enor 
mous  proportions  should  any  harm  come  to  her 
brother. 

I  was  suddenly  recalled  to  the  affairs  of  the 
moment  by  hearing  the  screams  of  a  woman,  fol 
lowed  by  a  rifle-shot.  I  saw  Jane  Ryder  urging 
her  horse  forward,  and,  without  waiting  to  see 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  155 

what  Colonel  Ryder  proposed  to  do,  I  put 
spurs  to  my  horse,  followed  by  Whistling  Jim. 
The  scream  of  the  woman  had  sent  a  cold  chill 
all  through  me,  and  I  was  in  no  humor  for  wait 
ing  to  see  what  the  others  would  do.  I  thought 
I  heard  shouts  behind  me,  but  I  paid  no  attention 
to  them.  I  turned  my  horse  to  the  left  and 
headed  him  in  the  direction  from  which  the  sounds 
had  come. 

Keeping  a  sharp  eye  ahead,  I  soon  came  in 
sight  of  a  cabin  sitting  lonely  and  forlorn  in  the 
middle  of  a  small  clearing.  I  saw  more  than 
this,  for  three  men  were  engaged  in  a  desperate 
effort  to  batter  down  the  door.  My  horse  bore 
me  past  the  little  lady  in  a  flash,  although  she  was 
using  the  whip.  With  a  cry  of  "Halt  and  sur 
render!"  I  rode  at  the  men  pistol  in  hand.  They 
whipped  around  the  house  without  turning  their 
heads,  and  ran  off  into  the  thick  undergrowth, 
where  it  would  have  been  both  useless  and  dan 
gerous  to  pursue  them. 

They  left  one  of  their  number  on  the  ground, 
the  victim  of  the  rifle-shot  we  had  heard.  He 
begged  lustily  for  both  mercy  and  water.  If  he 
had  been  compelled  to  choose  between  the  two  I 


156  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

think  he  would  have  taken  water.  I  gave  him 
my  canteen,  which  he  emptied  at  a  gulp  and 
called  for  more.  There  was  a  strange  silence  in 
the  house — a  silence  in  decided  contrast  to  the 
screams  I  had  heard,  and  I  wondered  if  the 
wretches  had  shot  the  woman.  I  started  to 
knock  on  the  door  with  the  butt  of  my  pistol,  but 
Jane  Ryder  was  before  me. 

"Only  children  do  such  foolish  things,"  she  ex 
claimed,  and  I  thought  she  had  scorn  in  her  voice. 
"Sally!  Sally  Rodgers!  Open  the  door  if  you 
are  alive!  Don't  you  know  me?  Your  friends 
are  here." 

"Pardon  me!"  I  said,  pushing  past  Jane  Ryder 
as  the  door  opened.  For  a  moment  I  could  see 
nothing  whatever,  not  even  the  woman  who  had 
opened  the  door,  but  when  my  eyes  grew  accus 
tomed  to  the  gloom  that  pervaded  the  house — all 
the  windows  were  closed — I  saw  the  big  Irish 
man  whom  I  had  met  at  the  tavern  a  few  nights 
before.  He  was  sitting  very  quietly  in  the 
chimney-corner,  but  I  observed  that  he  had  me 
covered  with  his  rifle.  I  stared  at  him  without 
a  word,  and  he  was  equally  as  silent,  but  some 
thing  in  the  situation — or  in  his  face,  for  he  had 


He  had  me  covered 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  157 

as  pleasing  a  countenance  as  I  have  ever  seen — 
caused  me  to  laugh. 

'Tis  a  long  mile  from  a  joke,"  he  declared. 
"Ye  see  before  ye  Private  O'Halloran  av  the 
sharpshooters.  Wan  av  us  is  a  prisoner,  an'  I'm 
thinkin'  it's  not  meself." 

"It  is  not  given  to  every  man,"  I  replied,  "to 
be  taken  prisoner  while  he  is  still  a  prisoner. 
You  will  have  to  speak  to  Colonel  Ryder." 

The  woman  had  come  from  behind  the  door 
to  greet  Jane  Ryder,  and  now  she  was  giving 
her  all  the  details  of  her  troubles,  her  voice  pitched 
in  a  very  high  key.  Meanwhile,  half  a  dozen 
children  in  various  stages  of  undress  swarmed 
from  under  the  bed  and  stood  staring  at  us. 
"The  sound  of  the  woman's  screams,"  said  I, 
turning  to  Jane  Ryder,  "caused  me  to  forget  that 
I  am  a  prisoner.  I  hope  your  brother  doesn't 
think  that  I  made  that  an  excuse  for  running 
away." 

"And  why  shouldn't  a  prisoner  escape — if  he 
can?"  she  asked,  after  a  moment's  hesitation. 
"You'll  never  have  a  better  opportunity  to  rejoin 
your  command.  You  are  not  under  parole,  and 
you  are  under  no  obligations  to  my  brother.  You 


158  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

have  only  to  mount  your  horse,  beckon  to  your 
negro,  and  follow  the  path  you  will  find  at  the 
back  of  the  house.  It  leads  by  a  grist-mill.  A 
part  of  your  command  has  already  passed  on  the 
road  beyond  the  mill,  but  if  you  will  go  now  you 
will  fall  in  with  the  rear-guard." 

"Beggin'  pardon,"  said  O'Halloran,  taking 
off  his  hat  to  the  lady,  "the  lad  has  engagements 
wit'  me.  He's  me  twenty-ninth,  all  told,  an' 
there's  luck  in  odd  numbers.  If  it's  all  the  same 
to  you,  mum,  he'll  stay  here." 

"But  it's  not  all  the  same  to  me,  Mr.  O'Hal 
loran,"  she  said,  turning  to  the  Irishman.  "I 
prefer  that  he  should  go." 

His  eyes  grew  bigger  as  he  stared  at  the  lady. 
"Oh — "  he  exclaimed,  and  then  paused  with  his 
mouth  open.  "Niver  did  I  hope  to  see  me  gal 
lant  Captain  in  this  rig.  It  doesn't  become  ye 
at  all.  The  trimmin's  make  ye  a  fut  shorter,  an' 
be  me  soul!  ye  was  short  enough  to  begin  wit'." 
His  amazement  made  her  laugh,  but  she  made  no 
reply. 

"Are  you  going?"  she  inquired,  turning  to  me. 
I  hesitated.  Undoubtedly  here  was  an  oppor 
tunity,  but  something  or  other — some  feeling  or 


A   LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  159 

sentiment — call  it  what  you  will — held  me  back. 

"Not  now,"  I  said,  finally.  "Some  other  time, 
perhaps,  but  not  now."  I  did  not  realize  at  the 
time  why  I  held  back  —  why  I  refused  to  be 
free." 

She  turned  away  from  me  with  a  petulant 
shrug  of  the  shoulders,  as  much  as  to  say  that  she 
was  no  longer  under  obligations  to  me  for  pre 
venting  her  capture  by  the  party  that  had  raided 
the  tavern.  The  big  Irishman,  who  had  evidently 
recognized  the  little  lady  as  a  person  of  some  im 
portance,  went  so  far  as  to  try  to  persuade  me 
to  make  my  escape,  or,  rather,  to  take  advantage 
of  the  escape  I  had  already  made. 

"If  ye're  stayin'  thinkin'  he's  a  woman,  don't 
do  ut.  Don't  stop  for  to  say  good-by,  but  strad 
dle  yure  horse  an'  be  off  wit'  ye." 

But  the  little  lady  had  a  mind  of  her  own,  as 
I  was  shortly  to  discover.  After  she  had  talked 
with  the  woman  for  a  few  minutes,  she  turned  to 
me. 

"Will  you  ride  with  me  a  few  miles?"  she  in 
quired.  "Your  negro  can  lead  your  horse." 

I  agreed  with  such  promptness  and  eagerness 
that  a  faint  tinge  of  color  came  into  her  face. 


160  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

But,  in  the  bustle  of  getting  away,  I  paid  little 
attention  to  her  appearance  until  we  were  on 
the  move  again,  and  then  I  observed  that  she 
was  very  pale.  I  thought  it  was  cold,  and 
said  so. 

"The  wind  is  certainly  chilly,"  she  replied,  and 
then,  moved  by  embarrassment,  or  stirred  by  the 
motherly  instinct  that  constitutes  more  than  half 
the  charm  of  womanhood,  she  leaned  over  and 
tucked  the  lap-robe  about  my  knees,  and  then  fell 
back  in  her  place,  laughing  gleefully,  as  a  child 
might  have  laughed.  Indeed,  for  a  woman 
grown,  this  little  lady  had  more  of  the  cunning 
tricks  of  childhood  than  anyone  I  had  ever  seen — 
the  cute  little  ways  that  endear  children  to  those 
who  love  them.  At  the  time,  this  fact  did  not 
add  to  my  happiness,  for,  what  with  her  woman 
liness  and  her  childishness,  she  presented  a  prob 
lem  that  puzzled  and  dazzled  me,  for  my  mind 
was  wofully  lacking  in  the  nimbleness  necessary 
to  follow  the  swift  changes  of  her  moods. 

She  had  turned  the  buggy  into  the  woods,  and 
was  driving  along  with  no  road  to  guide  her.  I 
had  not  the  remotest  idea  whither  she  was  carry 
ing  me,  but  by  way  of  saying  something  I  pro- 


A   LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  161 

tested  against  the  way  she  was  pushing  her  horse. 
"You  will  need  him  after  to-day,"  I  explained. 

"I  have  reason  to  be  in  a  hurry,"  she  said. 
"Horses  are  cheap  enough  with  us.  They  are 
furnished  by  the  Government." 

"Still,  he  is  a  fairly  good  horse,"  I  remarked, 
"and  he  deserves  some  consideration  on  his  own 
account." 

"Do  you  think  so?"  she  cried.  "I  am  sure  you 
are  very  kind — to  horses.  If  I  am  driving  him 
too  hard  you  have  yourself  to  thank.  You  have 
upset  all  my  plans,  and  I  am  not  very  happy. 
Don't  you  think  a  woman  deserves  as  much  con 
sideration  as  a  horse?" 

"They  are  to  be  treated  according  to  their 
deserts,"  I  answered,  gravely.  "They  know 
what  duty  is.  Private  O'Halloran  says  that  you 
are  no  woman,  and  I  say  that  you  are  no  man. 
Where  does  consideration  fall  in  your  case?" 

"I  ask  for  no  more  consideration  than  you 
would  accord  to  a  human  being.  Mr.  O'Hal 
loran  has  never  seen  me  in  my  proper  dress  be 
fore,  and  he  knows  only  how  I  appear  at  night 
when  I  am  working  for  the  cause  of  the  Union. 
But  who  are  you  that  you  should  judge  of  the 


162  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

deserts  of  men  and  women?  You  are  nothing 
but  a  boy,  and  you'll  not  be  different  when  you 
are  a  man.  Instead  of  marching  with  your  com 
rades,  here  you  are  riding  in  a  buggy  with  a 
woman — and  for  what?  In  the  name  of  heaven, 
tell  me  for  what?" 

She  seemed  to  be  overcome  by  quite  a  little 
flurry  of  passion,  and  her  manner  irritated  me. 
"You  know  why  as  well  as  I  do,"  I  replied, 
soberly  enough.  "You  heard  the  orders  my  Gen 
eral  gave  me  in  the  first  place,  and,  in  the  second 
place,  you  know  that  I  am  a  prisoner.  It  is  odd 
that  you  can  play  a  game  and  forget  the  score. 
I  imagined  when  I  started  that  my  duty  would 
be  the  greatest  pleasure  of  my  life." 

"Do  you  know  where  you  are  going  now?"  she 
inquired,  very  seriously. 

"It  is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  me,"  I  an 
swered.  "Wherever  I  go,  I  am  in  the  hands  of 
Providence." 

"If  you  could  believe  that,"  she  remarked,  "it 
would  do  you  a  world  of  good." 

I  laughed  at  her  serious  manner.  "Believe 
it!"  I  exclaimed.  "Why,  it  is  too  plain  for  mere 
belief.  I  do  not  believe  it — I  know  it." 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  163 

She  was  silent  for  a  long  time,  and  when  she 
did  speak  her  words,  showed  that  the  matter  was 
still  on  her  mind.  "It  seems  to  me  very  peculiar," 
she  said,  "that  one  so  young  should  have  such  sol 
emn  thoughts." 

"Why  do  you  call  them  solemn  thoughts?"  I 
asked.  "Can  anything  be  more  cheerful  than  to 
know  that  you  are  altogether  in  the  hands  of  a 
higher  Power — to  know  that  you  will  be  taken 
care  of;  or,  if  you  perish,  to  know  that  it  will  be 
in  the  very  nick  of  time?" 

"You  are  too  serious  to  be  romantic,"  she  said. 
"I  should  like  to  see  you  making  love." 

"I  can  gratify  your  humor  with  a  right  good 
will — only  the  lady  I  would  make  love  to  despises 


me." 


"I'll  never  believe  it,"  she  declared,  and  it  was 
evident  that  she  meant  what  she  said. 

"That  is  because  you  have  only  a  vague  idea 
of  the  cruelty  of  woman  when  she  has  a  man  at 
her  mercy — and  knows  it." 

"I  should  like  to  see  some  woman  at  your 
mercy,"  she  said.  "No  doubt  you  would  give 
free  play  to  the  strap  and  the  rawhide  and  other 
implements  of  the  slave-driver." 


164  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

Her  words  made  me  wince,  and  I  must  have 
shown  the  wound,  for  when  I  looked  at  her  her 
countenance  wore  an  expression  of  regret  and 
repentance.  "You  must  forgive  me,"  she  de 
clared.  "If  we  were  to  be  thrown  together  you 
would  have  to  forgive  me  fifty  times  a  day." 

"Well,  I  thank  heaven,"  I  exclaimed,  with 
some  feeling,  "that  I  was  never  at  the  mercy  of 
more  than  one  woman,  and  that  fact  was  miti 
gated  somewhat.  She  was  arrayed  in  the  garb 
of  a  man,  and  I  was  so  sorry  for  her  that  I  forgot 
she  had  me  at  her  mercy." 

"You  should  have  told  her,"  the  little  lady  de 
clared.  "Perhaps  if  she  had  known  her  conduct 
would  have  been  vastly  different.  You  never 
know  what  a  woman  will  do  until  she  has  been 
put  to  the  test." 

"She  did  a  good  deal,"  I  said,  sullenly.  "She 
called  me  a  coward,  a  rebel,  and  a  traitor." 

"Then  she  must  have  been  in  despair,"  replied 
the  little  lady  in  the  most  matter-of-fact  way. 
"When  you  are  a  little  older  you  will  discover 
that  despair  has  an  anger  all  its  own.  But  I  hope 
you  will  never  feel  it,"  she  sighed.  "Anyone  can 
see  that  you  know  very  little  about  women." 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  165 

"I  hope  my  ignorance  does  me  no  harm,"  I 
suggested. 

"Not  the  slightest,"  she  answered.  "It  is  a 
help  to  you.  It  is  the  sort  that  goes  with  youth, 
and  I  had  rather  have  your  youth  than  all  the 
experience  in  the  world." 

The  answer  I  made  I  shall  always  regard  as 
an  inspiration.  "You  can  have  my  youth,"  I 
said,  "if  you  will  take  all  that  goes  with  it."  For 
one  or  two  little  moments  she  either  doubted  her 
ears  or  failed  to  catch  my  meaning.  But  when 
she  could  no  longer  doubt — when  she  was  obliged 
to  understand  me — she  hid  her  face  in  her  hands 
to  conceal  the  result  of  her  emotions.  I  seized 
her  hands  and  compelled  her  to  look  at  me.  She 
was  blushing  like  a  school-girl.  "Is  my  youth, 
with  all  its  appurtenances,  worth  your  accept 
ance?"  I  asked.  She  made  no  reply,  and  I  think 
she  would  have  maintained  silence  the  rest  of  the 
way  but  for  my  persistent  chattering. 

To  me  her  embarrassment  was  very  beautiful 
— thrilling,  indeed — and  in  some  mysterious  way 
her  youth  came  back  to  her,  and  she  seemed  to  be 
no  more  than  sixteen.  "My  youth  is  not  too 
youthful  for  you,"  I  insisted.  "I  have  grown 


166  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

very  much  older  lately,  and  you  have  become  a 
girl  again  in  the  last  five  minutes."  She  was  still 
silent,  and  I  took  advantage  of  it  to  draw  her 
hands  under  the  lap-robe.  "There  is  no  reason 
why  your  fingers  should  freeze,"  I  said. 

"They  are  not  likely  to — now,"  she  declared, 
and,  though  it  may  have  been  pure  imagination, 
I  thought  she  leaned  a  little  nearer,  and  the  bare 
idea  of  such  graciousness  on  her  part  seemed  to 
change  my  whole  nature.  All  the  folly  of  youth 
went  out  of  me,  and  love  came  in  and  took  its 
place  and  filled  my  whole  being.  What  I  had 
been  belonged  to  the  remote  past ;  I  knew  that  I 
should  never  be  the  same  again. 

"I  offered  you  my  youth,"  I  said,  "and  now  I 
offer  you  my  manhood,  such  as  it  is.  You  must 
answer  yea  or  nay." 

She  gave  me  a  quick,  inquiring  glance,  and  her 
face  told  me  all  that  I  desired  to  know.  "Neither 
yea  nor  nay,"  she  replied.  "We  are  both  very 
foolish,  but,  of  the  two,  I  am  the  more  foolish. 
We  are  trying  to  look  too  far  ahead ;  we  are  pry 
ing  into  the  future,  and  the  future  is  away  be 
yond  us.  Everything  you  say  and  everything  I 
have  in  my  mind  is  absurd,  no  matter  how  agree- 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  167 

able  it  may  be.  Do  you  care  enough  for  me  to 
desert  your  comrades  and  fling  your  principles  to 
the  four  winds?  Do  I  care  enough  for  you  to 
leave  my  people  and  give  my  sympathies  to  your 
side?"  She  was  smiling  as  she  spoke,  but  I  knew 
that  she  was  very  serious,  and  I  made  no  reply. 
"I  am  going  to  tell  you  the  simple  truth,"  she 
went  on.  "I  do  care  enough  for  you  to  leave 
everything  for  your  sake,  for  there  can  be  no  real 
love  where  there  is  not  a  willingness  to  sacrifice 
all —  Oh,  I  don't  know  why  women  are  com 
pelled  to  make  all  the  sacrifices." 

"She  not  only  does  that,"  I  replied,  "but  she  is 
compelled  to  bear  the  burden  of  them  alone. 
Ordinarily,  man  is  a  hindrance  rather  than  a  help, 
but  I  am  here  to  help  you." 

"Then  help  me  in  the  right  way,"  she  im 
plored. 

"I  will,"  I  replied;  "but  here  is  an  argument 
that  is  worth  all  the  rest,"  and  with  that  I  drew 
her  to  me  and  pressed  my  lips  to  hers.  She  made 
no  resistance  whatever,  but  somehow  the  argu 
ment  did  not  appeal  to  her  reason. 

"I  could  kiss  you  twice  ten  thousand  times," 
she  declared,  "but  facts  would  remain  the  same. 


168  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

I  have  heard  that  your  people  have  great  notions 
of  honor,  and  I  hope  it  is  true  in  your  case." 

Well,  it  was  only  too  true,  and  I  knew  it,  but, 
manlike,  I  must  take  some  reprisal  from  the 
truth.  "Your  mother  told  me,"  I  said,  "that  you 
have  a  great  knack  of  hurting  those  you  love." 

She  leaned  against  me  with  a  sigh.  "If  I 
thought  that  the  truth  could  really  hurt  you,"  she 
declared,  "I  should  never  be  happy  again  in  this 
world,  but  it  is  something  else  that  hurts,  and  it 
is  hurting  me  a  great  deal  worse  than  it  is  hurting 
you." 

I  suppose  I  am  not  the  only  man  in  the  world 
that  has  been  caught  in  the  desert  that  sometimes 
stretches  its  barren  wastes  between  love  and  duty. 
I  knew  that  if  I  but  held  out  my  hand  to  this  little 
woman  she  would  give  up  all,  and,  assuredly,  had 
she  held  out  her  hand  to  me  I  should  have  flung 
duty  to  the  winds.  But  she  was  of  a  different 
mould.  The  only  comfort  I  had  at  the  moment 
was  in  feeling  that  the  sacrifice  was  mutual. 

I  longed  for  her  brother  to  ride  up  behind  us, 
so  that  I  might  still  be  a  prisoner,  but  she  had 
provided  against  that.  I  realized  at  last  that  I 
had  never  been  regarded  as  a  prisoner.  I  should 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  169 

have  been  grateful,  but  I  was  not — at  least,  not 
at  the  moment.  If,  as  has  been  said,  a  man  cuts 
a  ridiculous  figure  when  he  is  sulking,  my  appear 
ance  must  have  been  truly  laughable.  But  the 
little  lady  was  very  sweet  and  patient.  Her  eyes 
were  so  full  of  tears,  as  she  afterward  confessed, 
that  she  could  hardly  see  to  guide  her  horse. 

When  I  came  to  take  note  of  my  surround 
ings  I  could  not  refrain  from  uttering  an  ex 
clamation  of  surprise.  We  had  issued  from  the 
forest,  when  or  how  I  knew  not,  and  were  now 
ascending  a  very  steep  hill.  Looking  back,  I 
saw  a  mill  behind  me,  and  noticed  that  Whistling 
Jim  was  engaged  in  conversation  with  the  miller. 
He  was  evidently  negotiating  for  meal  or  flour; 
but  it  all  came  to  me  as  in  a  dream. 

"Did  you  see  the  mill  as  we  came  by?"  I  asked. 

"Certainly,"  the  little  lady  replied.  "Didn't 
you  hear  me  speak  to  the  miller?" 

"I  don't  know  how  I  am  to  forgive  you  for 
seeing  and  hearing  things.  I  didn't  know  we 
had  come  out  of  the  wood." 

She  laughed  merrily  and  laid  her  face  against 
my  arm,  but  when  she  lifted  it  she  was  crying. 
"Oh,  don't  make  it  too  hard  for  me,"  she 


170  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

pleaded.  "I  am  not  myself  to-day.  Duty  has 
been  poisoned  for  me,  and  I  shall  be  wretched 
until  this  war  is  over.  Surely  it  can't  last  long." 

"Not  longer  than  a  century,"  I  replied,  bit 
terly. 

"Look  yonder!"  she  exclaimed. 

We  had  now  reached  the  top  of  the  hill,  and 
when  I  looked  in  the  direction  in  which  she 
pointed,  I  saw  a  sight  that  thrilled  me. 


XIV 

From  the  crest  of  the  hill  a  vast  panorama,  bare 
but  beautiful,  stretched  out  before  us.  The  hill 
was  not  a  mountain — indeed,  from  the  direction 
of  our  approach,  it  seemed  to  be  rather  an  insig 
nificant  hill;  but  on  the  farther  side  the  land  fell 
away  from  it  quite  unexpectedly,  so  that  what 
seemed  to  be  a  hill  from  one  side  developed  the 
importance  almost  of  a  mountain  on  the  other 
side.  The  road  dropped  into  a  valley  that  ran 
away  from  the  hill  and  spread  out  for  miles  and 
miles  until  it  faded  against  the  horizon  and  was 
lost  in  the  distance.  The  season  was  winter,  and 
the  view  was  a  sombre  one,  but  its  extent  gave  it 
a  distinction  all  its  own.  Far  to  the  left  a 
double  worm-fence  ran,  and  we  knew  that  a  road 
lay  between,  for  along  its  lazy  length  a  troop  of 
cavalry  trailed  along. 

I  knew  it  instantly  for  the  rear-guard  of  my  ; 
command,  and  the  sight  of  it  thrilled  me.     I 
suppose  something  of  a  glow  must  have  come 

171 


172  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

into  my  face,  for  the  little  woman  at  my  side 
stirred  impatiently.  "That  is  your  command," 
she  said,  "and  you  are  glad  to  see  them."  She 
was  silent  a  moment,  and  then,  as  if  she  had  sud 
denly  lost  all  control  of  herself,  cried  out,  "Oh, 
what  shall  I  do  now?" 

"You  knew  what  my  duty  was,"  I  said,  with 
a  sustaining  arm  about  her,  "and  you  brought 
me  here." 

"But  if  I  had  it  to  do  over  again  I  couldn't — 
I  couldn't!"  she  wailed. 

"If  you  had  it  to  do  over  again  you  shouldn't," 
I  answered;  and  then  I  seized  her  and  held  her 
tight  in  my  arms.  Nor  did  I  release  her  until 
Whistling  Jim,  coming  up  and  realizing  the 
situation,  celebrated  it  by  whistling  a  jig.  "If 
you'll  say  the  word,"  I  declared,  "I'll  go  with 
you." 

"I  can't!  I  can't!"  she  cried.  "Do  you  say 
it,  and  I'll  go  with  you." 

But  neither  of  us  said  it;  something  beyond 
ourselves  held  us  back.  I  am  not  sure,  after  all, 
that  it  was  a  sense  of  duty ;  but,  whatever  it  was, 
it  was  effectual. 

"I  am  afraid  something  dreadful  will  happen 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  173 

to  you,"  she  declared.  "I  have  dreamed  and 
dreamed  about  it.  You  have  made  a  coward  of 
me.  I'm  not  afraid  for  myself,  but  for  you." 

"One  year  after  the  war  is  over,"  I  said,  "I 
shall  be  at  the  old  tavern  in  Murfreesborough. 
One  year  to  a  day.  Will  you  meet  me  there?" 

"I'll  be  there,"  she  replied,  "or  send  a  mes 
senger  to  tell  you  that  I  am  dead." 

And  so  we  parted.  I  mounted  my  horse,  and 
she  turned  her  buggy  around.  I  watched  her 
until  she  passed  out  of  sight,  and  I  knew  that 
one  of  her  little  hands  must  be  cold,  for  she 
waved  it  constantly  until  a  turn  in  the  road  hid 
her  from  view.  On  the  road  toward  which  she 
was  going  I  could  see  a  group  of  men  and 
horses,  and  I  knew  that  her  brother  awaited  her. 
With  a  heavy  heart,  I  turned  my  horse's  head, 
and  went  galloping  after  my  comrades,  followed 
by  Whistling  Jim. 

I  had  but  one  thought,  and  that  was  to  report 
to  General  Forrest  as  promptly  as  possible  and 
receive  the  reprimand  that  I  knew  I  deserved. 
At  that  time  it  was  the  general  opinion,  even 
among  those  of  his  command  who  were  not 
thrown  into  daily  contact  with  him,  that  this 


174  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

truly  great  man  was  of  a  grim  and  saturnine  dis 
position.  But  it  was  an  opinion  that  did  him 
great  injustice.  There  were  times  when  he 
fairly  bubbled  over  with  boyish  humor,  and 
though  these  moments  were  rare,  he  was  unfail 
ingly  cordial  to  those  that  had  met  his  expecta 
tions  or  who  had  his  confidence.  He  could  be 
grim  enough  when  circumstances  demanded  a 
display  of  temper,  but  he  had  never  made  me 
the  victim  of  his  displeasure. 

I  looked  forward  with  no  little  concern  to  our 
next  meeting,  for  I  felt  that  I  merited  a  repri 
mand,  and  I  knew  how  severe  he  could  be  on 
such  occasions.  He  was  far  to  the  front,  as  I 
knew  he  would  be.  "Hello,  Shannon!"  he  ex 
claimed,  in  response  to  my  salute.  His  coun 
tenance  was  serious  enough,  but  there  was  a 
humorous  twinkle  in  his  eye.  "Did  you  fetch 
me  the  fellow  I  sent  you  for?" 

Thereupon,  I  related  my  adventures  as  briefly 
as  I  could.  He  seemed  to  be  amused  at  some 
thing  or  other — I  have  thought  since  that  it 
must  have  been  at  my  attitude  of  self -deprecia 
tion — and  called  two  or  three  of  his  favorite 
officers  so  that  they  might  enjoy  it  with  him. 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  175 

He  was  highly  tickled  by  the  narrative  of  my 
experience  with  the  little  lady  in  the  top-buggy, 
though,  as  a  matter  of  course,  I  suppressed  some 
of  the  details. 

"Now,  I  want  you  all  to  look  at  this  boy,"  he 
said  to  his  officers  when  I  had  concluded.  "He 
ain't  anything  but  a  boy,  and  yet  he  did  what 
no  other  man  in  my  command  could  have  done. 
He  captured  Leroy,  the  fellow  you  have  been 
reading  about,  and  fetched  him  to  me,  and  I've 
put  him  out  of  business.  There's  Goodrum,  an 
old  campaigner,  a  man  who  knows  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  in  this  part  of  Tennessee.  I 
put  Goodrum  on  the  same  trail,  and  Goodrum's 
a  prisoner.  This  boy  was  a  prisoner,  too,  and 
yet  he  turns  up  all  right  and  puts  up  a  poor 
mouth  about  what  he  failed  to  do.  If  every 
man  in  my  command  would  fail  in  the  same  way 
I'd  have  the  finest  body  of  troops  in  the  army. 
And  look  at  him  blush.  Why,  if  these  other 
fellows  were  in  your  place" — indicating  the 
officers — "they'd  be  strutting  around  here  like 
peacocks." 

"But,  General,"  I  protested,  "what  I  did  was 
through  my  blundering." 


176  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"Then  I  hope  you'll  go  right  ahead  with  your 
blunders;  you  couldn't  please  me  better.  I'm 
going  to  take  you  away  from  the  Independents, 
and  I'll  put  you  where  I  can  get  my  hands  on 
you  any  hour  of  the  night  or  day." 

And  as  he  said  so  it  was — and  so  it  remained 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  Especially  was  it  so 
when  Forrest  was  ordered  to  cover  Hood's  re 
treat  after  the  disastrous  affair  at  Nashville. 
History  has  not  made  very  much  of  this  achieve 
ment,  but  I  have  always  thought  that  it  was  the 
most  remarkable  episode  of  the  war.  Under 
the  circumstances,  no  other  leader  could  have 
accomplished  it.  No  other  man  could  have  im 
posed  his  personality  between  the  defeated  Con 
federates  and  their  victorious  foe,  bent  on  their 
total  destruction.  It  was  little  short  of  won 
derful. 

I  remember  that  I  was  shoeless,  along  with 
the  greater  part  of  my  command,  though  the 
weather  was  bitter  cold,  and  my  feet  were  bleed 
ing,  and  yet  when  I  heard  that  trumpet  voice, 
ordering  us  from  the  wagons  to  make  one  more 
stand,  I  never  thought  of  my  feet.  Nor  was 
there  a  shirker  among  the  men — and  all  because 


A   LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  177 

the  leader  was  Forrest.  Nothing  but  death 
would  have  prevented  us  from  responding  to  his 
summons.  And  we  saved  that  defeated  army 
from  annihilation,  holding  the  enemy  at  bay  and 
driving  him  back,  when,  if  he  had  known  the 
true  condition  of  affairs,  he  would  have  ridden 
over  us  roughshod.  There  were  times  when  we 
were  upon  the  point  of  giving  way  and  fleeing 
before  the  numbers  that  were  hurled  against  us. 
But  always  the  imposing  figure  of  Forrest  ap 
peared  at  the  weak  point,  and  then  it  would  be 

the  enemy  would  give  way. 

•          •••••• 

At  this  point,  with  only  a  few  more  words,  my 
story  would  have  been  ended,  but  the  young 
lady  to  whom  it  was  first  told  would  not  permit 
it  to  end  there.  Her  Boston  education  had  not 
eliminated  her  curiosity.  She  sat  looking  at 
her  mother  with  an  indescribable  expression  on 
her  face.  I  knew  not  whether  she  was  on  the 
point  of  laughing  or  crying,  and  I  think  that 
for  a  moment  the  mother  was  as  doubtful  as  I. 
She  did  neither  the  one  nor  the  other,  but  went  to 
her  mother's  chair  and  kneeled  on  the  floor  be 
side  her. 


178  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

"Hasn't  Dad  left  something  out?" 

"Why,  I  think  not,"  replied  the  mother. 
"Indeed,  I  think  he  has  told  too  much." 

"Oh,  no,  not  too  much,"  replied  the  young 
woman.  "I  know  he  has  left  out  something, 
and  I  think  it  is  the  most  important  part." 

"What  I  have  not  told,"  I  remarked,  "has 
been  strongly  intimated.  It  is  best  to  leave 
some  things  to  the  imagination." 

"I  think  not,"  replied  the  young  woman,  with 
decision.  "You  haven't  told  anything  about 
what  happened  after  the  war." 

"That's  true,"  commented  the  mother,  with 
something  like  a  blush;  "but  I  think  that  is 
almost  too  personal." 

"No,  no,"  the  girl  insisted  with  a  smile;  "you 
know  how  the  public  take  such  things.  If  Dad 
writes  his  story  and  has  it  put  in  a  book  the 
readers  will  think  it  is  pure  fiction." 

"But  if  it  were  fiction,"  said  I,  "it  would  be 
a  bad  thing  for  all  of  us." 

Fiction  or  not,  I  was  compelled  to  tell  the 
story  until  there  was  no  more  story  to  tell. 

In  the  middle  of  April,  one  year  after  the  sur 
render,  I  made  all  my  preparations  to  return  to 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  179 

Murfreesborough,  and  it  was  no  surprise  to  me 
that  Harry  Herndon  was  keen  to  go  with  me. 
His  grandmother  made  no  objection,  especially 
when  he  explained  that  he  desired  to  be  my  best 
man.  His  real  reason  for  going,  however,  was 
a  lively  hope  that  Katherine  Bledsoe  would  ac 
company  Jane  Ryder.  And  then  there  was 
Whistling  Jim  to  be  taken  into  account.  He 
made  known  his  intention  of  accompanying  me 
whether  or  no.  He  was  free,  and  he  had  money 
of  his  own,  and  there  was  no  reason  why  he 
shouldn't  visit  Murfreesborough  if  he  cared  to. 
He  settled  the  matter  for  himself,  and,  once  on 
the  way,  I  was  very  glad  to  have  him  along. 

But  for  the  subtle  changes  made  by  peace, 
the  town  was  the  same,  and  even  the  old  tavern 
in  the  woods  had  survived  all  the  contingencies 
of  war  and  stood  intact,  but  tenantless.  I  made 
haste  to  escape  from  the  old  house,  and  was  sorry 
that  I  had  ventured  there  before  the  appointed 
time.  The  sight  of  it  gave  me  a  feeling  of  de 
pression,  and  I  had  a  foretaste  of  the  emptiness 
there  would  be  in  life  should  Jane  Ryder  fail  to 
come. 

The  only  consolation  I  had  was  in  the  hope- 


180  A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT 

fulness  of  Whistling  Jim.  "She'll  be  dar  ez 
sho'  ez  de  woiT,"  he  said,  and  his  earnestness  was 
so  vital  that  it  was  the  means  of  lifting  me  across 
a  very  bad  place  in  my  experience ;  yet  it  did  not 
cure  me  of  the  restlessness  that  had  seized  me. 
The  night  before  the  appointed  day,  I  wandered 
far  beyond  the  limit  of  the  town,  and  presently, 
without  knowing  how  I  got  there,  I  found  my 
self  near  the  house  where  Jack  Bledsoe  had  lain 
when  he  was  wounded.  I  went  to  the  gate  and 
would  have  gone  in  on  the  pretence  of  inquiring 
the  way  to  the  town;  but  a  woman  was  standing 
there  in  the  darkness. 

I  hesitated,  but  I  should  have  known  her 
among  a  thousand — I  should  have  known  her  if 
the  darkness  had  been  Egyptian.  I  opened  the 
gate  and  held  her  in  my  arms.  Neither  said  a 
word,  and  the  silence  was  unbroken  until  some 
one  in  the  house  came  out  upon  the  veranda  and 
called: 

"Jane!  Jane!  Are  you  out  there?  Where 
are  you?"  It  was  the  voice  of  Katherine  Bled 
soe,  and  I  was  glad  for  Harry's  sake. 

•          •••••• 

"I  don't  think  that  is  a  very  pretty  way  to 


A    LITTLE    UNION    SCOUT  181 

end  a  story,"  said  the  mother  of  the  college 
graduate,  perceiving  that  I  had  nothing  more 
to  say.  "You  should  by  all  means  get  your 
sweetheart  out  of  your  arms." 

"Since  that  day,"  I  replied,  "she  hasn't  been 
out  of  them  long  at  a  time." 

"But  you  will  have  to  change  that  part  of  it 
when  you  write  the  story  out." 

"Oh,  no!"  cried  the  daughter. 

I  refilled  my  pipe  and  listened  to  their  tender 
arguments  until  I  was  sleepy,  and  when  I  went 
to  bed  they  were  still  arguing. 


THE  END 


RETURN     CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT      7830 
TO—  •*     202  Main  Library 

LOAN  PERIOD  1 
HOME  USE 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

Renewals  and  Recharges  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  the  due  date. 

Books  may  be  Renewed  by  calling     642-3405. 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


JU/V  2  3  1SS2 


FORM  NO.  DD6 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


YB  75603 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


464397** 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


